Daniel Cormier Announces Retirement After Loss To Stipe Miocic At ‘UFC 252’
Former UFC double champion Daniel Cormier announced that he is retiring from mixed martial arts following his unanimous-decision loss to reigning heavyweight titleholder Stipe Miocic at UFC 252 on Saturday night.
As seen in the video below, the veteran fighter made the announcement during the post-fight press conference, telling color commentator Joe Rogan that he’s only interested in competing for championships but doesn’t see any more title bouts awaiting him in the future.
“That’ll be it for me. I’ve had a long run, [and] it’s been great. I just fought my last fight for the heavyweight championship, and it was a pretty good fight.”
Rogan then agreed with Cormier’s assessment of the bout, also predicting that he will soon be hailed as one of the “greatest combat sports athletes of all time.”
"That'll be it for me."
Thank you for everything, @DC_MMA. #UFC252 pic.twitter.com/TZCOzJf7sN
— UFC (@ufc) August 16, 2020
As reported by Yahoo Sports, Cormier’s MMA career came to a “rough end,” as he had been hoping to finish things on a high note by beating Miocic in the final chapter of their trilogy. The outlet pointed out that coronavirus-related restrictions had forced the 41-year-old to compete in a mostly empty arena without any fans in attendance as he ultimately lost a close fight against his longtime rival.
Had he emerged victorious on Saturday night, there might have been a possibility Cormier would have chosen to announce his retirement at a later time, the publication added.
Cormier, who retired with a 22-3-1 record, enjoyed a decorated career that notably saw him defeat Anthony Johnson for the then-vacant light heavyweight title at UFC 187 in 2015, per TSN. He successfully defended the belt three times and then became the second two-division champion in the promotion’s history when he defeated Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight championship at UFC 226 in 2018. Prior to that feat, only Conor McGregor had simultaneously held titles in two separate weight classes.
After a successful heavyweight defense against Derrick Lewis at UFC 230, Cormier relinquished his belt in the 205-pound weight class. However, he lost the second part of his trilogy with Miocic, as well as his only remaining title, almost a year ago to this date at UFC 241.
Aside from Miocic, Jon Jones was the only other man to have defeated Cormier in the octagon, beating him at UFC 182 in 2015 and once again at UFC 214 in 2017. However, the latter win was changed to a no-contest after Jones tested positive for the steroid Turinabol, allowing Cormier to be reinstated as light heavyweight champion.
“Only losing to fighters like that signifies a stellar career, but it’s hard to imagine Cormier didn’t want more,” Yahoo Sports wrote.
