CLEVELAND — After nearly a year of waiting, Cleveland’s Stipe Miocic is getting the UFC heavyweight championship rematch he wanted with Daniel Cormier.
Cormier vs. Miocic 2 is set for the UFC 241 event at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on Saturday, August 17, 2019, and the former champion let it be known his intentions for the fight against Cormier in a Twitter post.
“I’m ready,” Miocic tweeted. “I’ve been ready. I’m going to take back what’s mine.”
The August 17 bout with Cormier will be a chance for Miocic to settle some bad blood between the former and current champions.
In a Twitter rant in February, Cormier called out Miocic for remaining idle while he took a bout against Derrick Lewis to main-event the UFC’s annual early-November trip to Madison Square Garden in New York City.
“Reason 1: he’s being entitled, why have I fought since and he hasn’t. He lost the fight. Is he still the champ?” Cormier tweeted. “Reason 2: I’m hurt. Reason 3: How do I do it better? I beat him in a round last time.”
Earlier that day, Cormier tweeted: “I don’t owe anyone s&*$!”
Cormier’s comments came just over a month after he left open the possibility of giving Miocic a rematch should a potential super-fight with former heavyweight king Brock Lesnar not materialize. Currently, Lesnar is contracted to World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
“If it ain’t Brock, I want to fight Stipe Miocic and give him what’s rightfully his, a rematch for this title,” Cormier said in an appearance on “The MMA Hour” on December 31.
Miocic was swift and succinct with his response to Cormier’s rant.
Despite taking a thumb to the left eye on an attempted shove from the challenger early in the bout, Miocic felt he was winning for much of the first round against Cormier in his fourth defense of the UFC heavyweight championship.
However, out of a clinch, Cormier faked an uppercut, came over the top with a right-handed strike and floored the defending champion. With Miocic on his back, Cormier pounced and landed multiple strikes before the referee called a stop to the contest.
The record-holder for the most consecutive successful defenses of the UFC heavyweight championship, Miocic is 18-3-0 in his professional career, including a 12-3 mark since joining the preeminent organization in mixed martial arts.
Cormier is 22-1 with one no-contest in 24 professional bouts. The one no-contest was originally a knockout loss at the hands of Jon Jones in July of 2017, but a failed test gave the UFC light-heavyweight championship back to Cormier and set him on a path for a return to the heavyweight division.
