LAS VEGAS — Stipe Miocic is still the UFC Heavyweight Champion. And he can also still be considered the 'baddest man on the planet.'
Saturday night, Miocic and Daniel Cormier met for the third and final time in the main event showdown in Las Vegas at UFC 252.
At the end of the five round battle, Miocic captured the victory to retain his title in a unanimous decision over Cormier. On the scorecards, the Northeast Ohio native edged Cormier 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47.
The two fighters squared off in Las Vegas in an empty arena as the epic heavyweight trilogy between the two fighters finally came to an end.
Prior to the fight, UFC president Dana White said Miocic-Cormier III would determine the greatest heavyweight in UFC history. Cormier, as expected, announced his retirement after losing the decision to Miocic.
In their first meeting in 2018, Cormier ended Miocic's record run of three straight heavyweight title defense with a first-round knockout over the Euclid native.
However, over a year later, Stipe got revenge and reclaimed his title with a fourth-round TKO over Cormier.
Miocic's professional record is now 20-3, while Cormier drops to 22-3.
In a pre-fight interview with 3News Jay Crawford, Miocic didn't mince any words on who he thought would be sitting on the throne come Saturday night.
"It's going to be me. I've trained so hard. I have the best coaches and the best teammates in the world. I'm going to go out there and do what I do and I'm going to walk out with the belt still wrapped around my waist and hearing [the words] and still...[heavyweight champion of the world].
You can watch the entire interview between Jay Crawford and Stipe Miocic below in our YouTube player.