Thursday, March 28, 2024

Daniel Cormier speaks on third fight with Stipe Miocic

Following confirmation from Dana White that we would see a trilogy fight between Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic, there has been a lot of speculation as to when the fight will actually happen. The heavyweight division feels as though it has been on hold for quite a while now and while it may not be the deepest division in the UFC, it is causing some issues.

Daniel Cormier has recently spoken about the fight, when he thinks it could take place and what his plans are going forwards. In his interview Cormier stated that he isn’t expecting the fight to take place until mid-2020 at the earliest, as the UFC have already booked their first quarter of cards. “There’s no time for us to fight until maybe June. The way the UFC quarterly schedule is looking, the UFC essentially, with them announcing Tony (Ferguson) and Khabib (Nurmagomedov) for April, there’s really no time,”

While he is correct, it’s a shame for both fans and the division that we’ll be waiting even longer to see this fight.

Daniel Cormier’s last fight?

As much as I have enjoyed watching the first two fights between Cormier and Miocic, the rivalry between the two has essentially held up the division since July 2018 and it’s looking like we won’t see the pair fight again until around July 2020. That’s a long time for a division to be on pause while two guys go back and forth for the title, especially when there is a clear contender waiting in the wings.

The toughest part of this rematch comes as Cormier has made it very clear this will be his last fight, win or lose. This would cause chaos in the division if Cormier was to win, with the belt being vacated. Depending on how the loss played out, would Stipe be a viable option to fight for the vacant belt? Assuming Ngannou keeps up his winning streak, surely he would have to be one of the contenders? There are so many unknows around how this is going to play out and the impact it will have on the division.

If Stipe does retain then the rematch against Francis Ngannou would have to be booked before the end of the year. The former contender is coming off the back of three wins and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him fight at least once, perhaps twice more before there is an opportunity to fight for the title, by which point he would have been deserving of his second shot for over a year.

As much as DC deserves this shot, he is one of the greatest fighters in the history of the sport, giving him this fight just causes yet more problems in the division that Dana White is going to have to solve going forwards. Hopefully we’ll see the fight next summer and the heavyweight division can move on.

For more like this, you can visit our combat sports section here. Also, follow us on Facebook for coverage of the NFL and much more.

Why The UK Needs Joshua Vs Fury In 2021

Joshua vs Fury. A heavyweight title fight that has been the word on every boxing fan’s lips in the UK. Anthony Joshua won by ninth-round...

UFC 256: Tony Ferguson, Poor Strategy, Poor Performance

UFC 256 is in the books and unfortunately for Tony Ferguson he now has another loss next to his name. The real worrying thing for...

UFC: Munhoz vs Edgar not a Robbery

So the dust has settled on the Bantamweight debut of Frankie the answer Edgar and it was a very good night for the former Lightweight...

UFC Fight Night 174; Shogun vs Nogueira the Last of a Dying Breed.

Mauricio Shogun Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira need no introduction to older fans of the UFC. Both of these men are Pride FC legends, Pride...