Daniel Cormier will put his UFC heavyweight on the line on Saturday when steps into the octagon with Stipe Miocic.
But according to the reigning champ, that's not all that will be up for grabs at UFC 241 in Anaheim.
In what could very well be the final fight of his storied career, the 40-year-old Cormier believes he has the chance to cement his legacy as the greatest UFC heavyweight of all time. Some would argue that title currently belongs to Miocic, who defended the UFC heavyweight title a record five times before losing it to Cormier at UFC 226 last July. But with another victory over the Cleveland native on Saturday, Cormier's resume may simply be too impressive to deny.
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“I still believe that Cain Velasquez is the greatest UFC heavyweight champion of all time, but [with] two reigns or two title defenses, it’s hard to do that," Cormier told WKYC on Thursday. "But I think that my resume stands alongside anyone in the world and if I can beat Stipe -- a guy who’s considered the greatest heavyweight of all time -- twice, then yeah, I’m definitely in the conversation for that.”
As has been well documented, the rematch between Cormier and Miocic almost never happened.
Moments after knocking out Miocic in Las Vegas last July, Cormier was confronted in the octagon by former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. Most assumed that meant a super fight between the two was in the works -- only to see Lesnar ultimately continue his career in professional wrestling.
Having previously stated that he wanted to retire by his 40th birthday this past March, the clock was ticking on a big-money title defense for Cormier. Last November, he beat Derrick Lewis via submission to defend his title at Madison Square Garden at UFC 230, but that wasn't the type of high profile opponent he was looking to end his storied career against.
With Lesnar back in WWE and rival Jon Jones tied up defending his UFC light heavyweight title, a rematch vs. Miocic made the most sense. In May, UFC announced the rematch, which will mark Miocic's first fight since losing his belt to Cormier 13 months ago.
“I knew that I wanted to fight Stipe a second time and give him a rematch," Cormier said. "I knew I wanted to walk through that curtain again. I knew New York wouldn’t have been the last time I fought back in November and after I had back surgery in December, I just said, ‘You know what -- if it ain’t going to be Lesnar, let’s just go ahead and fight Stipe.'"
Although rumblings of a third match against Jones -- who is the only opponent to have beaten Cormier in UFC -- persist, the reality remains that between his age and recent injury history, Saturday could mark the final fight of his legendary career.
Should he lose to Miocic, that may be enough for the Lafayette native to move on to his next adventure -- likely broadcasting. And if he wins, there may simply be nothing left for him to prove.
Either way -- win or lose -- Cormier insists, he'll be leaving on his own terms.
“Just still being competitive, still being able to do everything the way that I have done it over the course of this last decade," he said. "Train as hard as I train, fight as hard as I fought. Win or lose, you can’t change that part of it. Win or lose, you can’t change that part of it. But at least give yourself a chance by not having a great amount of physical decline.”