CLEVELAND — Former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic continues his quest for a rematch with the very man who defeated him for the title last July, Daniel Cormier, and he furthered his cause by making an appearance on The ESPN MMA Show with Ariel Helwani Monday.
Miocic feels Cormier caught him with a lucky punch late in the first round of their UFC 226 bout at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas last summer, and stood firm on the fact that his next fight will be for the title.
“Last fight, I think it was a fluke, and that’s why I’m trying to get that shot back with D.C.,” Miocic told Helwani.
“He got me in the first round. It wasn’t like he was beating the brakes off me or anything like that. I felt like I was winning that fight. Then, I was caught with the punch, and if he’s that confident, do it again. See if he can do it again in the first round.”
In a Twitter rant earlier this month, Cormier answered the question of “Why I’m not fighting Stipe Miocic again?”
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, the current WWE Universal Champion, not materialize.
Currently, Lesnar is slated to defend the WWE Universal Championship against Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 35 on April 7. For him to be eligible for a UFC return, Lesnar must first pay a $250,000 fine stemming from multiple failed drug tests from his latest MMA bout, which came in July of 2016.
“If you look at it, there’s no other match to make in the heavyweight division besides me and him,” Miocic said. “He said that if ‘Brock isn’t able to fight in April, then I’ll fight Stipe’. I don’t know where Brock’s at? I think he’s doing WrestleMania in April sometime, and is he even cleared by USADA?”
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 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.
“No, I’m never losing hope,” Miocic said. “I’m definitely going to get it. I don’t understand. One minute, he says, ‘Yes,’ the next minute, he says, ‘No.’ Then, he tells me ‘I should get a fight before him,’ but he’s trying to fight a guy, if he does fight Brock, who hasn’t fought in almost three years, hasn’t fought anyone. He’s been popped twice. I don’t understand it. Maybe he should get a fight before he fights D.C. I don’t know.”
After criticizing Cormier’s choice of opponents, Miocic threw down the gauntlet for a spring rematch at UFC 236 at a yet-to-be-announced venue.
“Let’s do it April 13th, man,” Miocic said. “There’s a headliner or a spot, let’s do it.”