Never Count Stipe Miocic Out… The Question We Have to Ask Now After He Knocked Out Daniel Cormier is Whether He’s the Greatest Heavyweight of All-Time…
Stipe Miocic is now a two-time UFC heavyweight champion. He’s the first man officially to finish Daniel Cormier – ok, sure Jon Jones did it first – in a wild main event in Anaheim, California. Coming after a barnstorming co-main event between Anthony Pettis and Nate Diaz.
This was a revenge mission for Stipe. You could tell that he was fuming after his first-round knockout loss to the former light-heavyweight champion and knew that he could do better. The two men threw the kitchen sink at each other throughout this wild fight which was one of the best and most tense of the year so far.
Now the active fire officer is able to bring back his belt to Cleveland where it belongs. He stunned the world and proved that you can never count Stipe Miocic out.
6'5" 230lbs and Cormier picks him up like nothing!#UFC241 pic.twitter.com/uOqV0ids1Z
— UFC (@ufc) August 18, 2019
Rough Start
Cormier started off the fight with some good leg kicks. He clearly wanted to soften the big Ohio-Native up, before letting loose with his dirty boxing. The highlight of the first round was when DC picked Miocic up like he was nothing and almost dumped him up on his head like he was nothing. It was hugely impressive from the ATT fighter.
The champion continued to stay on top of the scorecards into the second and third rounds. He outboxed Miocic, marking up his face. Miocic did try to counter and DC spat blood at the end of the third. This was a war but the champion looked like he was on top.
STIPE MIOCIC GOD DAMN https://t.co/feg55kYjBo
— Dylan (@dylangonzalez21) August 18, 2019
War
The finish came in the fourth round of the fight. DC started to get a bit sloppy and didn’t show enough respect for Miocic’s striking. Big mistake. First of all the champion tenderized his body, visibly causing DC to wince in pain. Stipe sensed that there was an opportunity to unleash some carnage and he closed in for the kill.
He landed to the body and then to the head. With DC balled up against the fence it was clear that there was no way he could continue. Stipe Miocic had reclaimed his belt in the most dramatic fashion, coming from behind on the scorecards to finish one of the greatest fighters in the history of the sport.
These two are throwing the kitchen sink at each other!!#UFC241 pic.twitter.com/cRsMNUuezN
— UFC (@ufc) August 18, 2019
What Next?
The big question is what comes next for both men. There’s a lot of talk about Cormier retiring, but he did look excellent before getting uncharacteristically sloppy. Perhaps there’s another fight or two left in him if its the right one. Maybe even a trilogy.
Stipe Miocic will definitely be looking past DC though. Francis Ngannou wants his rematch with the champion and you can bet that Miocic will be interested in a champ v champ bout against Jon Jones. Now that would be box office if he were to welcome the light-heavyweight legend up for his heavyweight debut.
Stipe waited a long time to get that rematch. It was a gamble, but boy did it pay off.
