Daniel Cormier says he loves UFC 241 rematch with Stipe Miocic, discusses Jon Jones and Brock Lesnar ahead of title defense this weekend.
Anaheim, CA — The heavyweight champion of the world returns to the octagon at UFC 241 on Saturday, as Daniel Cormier throws down with Stipe Miocic for the second time. Cormier (22–1, 1NC), now 40, defeated Derrick Lewis subsequent to his first fight with Miocic, which saw him win the heavyweight title.
Miocic, meanwhile, has sat on the sidelines since, waiting for the rematch, and being rather vocal about his feelings in regards to not getting an immediate do-over, among other things.
At Wednesday’s UFC 241 open workouts, Cormier was vocal as well — on not caring about his opponent’s feelings. “I couldn’t give two sh*ts about his feelings,” Cormier told media outlets including Cageside Press. “I was watching something called Destined today, and he said ‘I get so upset thinking about it, it just pisses me off.’ Then I think his wife said something to the effect of ‘when people talk trash, it just makes it worse for him.’ Well, good thing about our job is, we get to punch each other in the face. So I’m going to keep talking, and it’s his job to shut me up.”
Miocic seemed to be on good terms with Cormier heading into the pair’s first fight, but that changed in the aftermath of the Ohio native losing the belt to D.C. “He has changed, after the loss,” Cormier said. “Honestly, as an opponent, it would be tough to spend six weeks with my anyway. I’m not saying I’m pleasant to be around, especially when I’m digging at you constantly. But I think he could deal with it before the first fight, because there was the idea that he was going to win.” Instead, Cormier scored a first round knockout. “I think when you lose the fight, it becomes much more difficult, so that’s why you see him so pissed off at me.”
Now, Cormier sees his opponent as “frustrated. He’s frustrated sitting from afar. I would love for him to come in there and try to kill me, and make it worse. Because I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to be in there fighting. I’m not afraid of anybody. And that’s what I think people don’t really, truly get.”
“Even if I lose, I’m still not afraid of you. It’s going to be a fight. It is what it is,” he added.
Cormier, who also works as an analyst for the UFC, gave his thoughts on the rematch overall, saying “I love the rematch, because as I said from the beginning, if there was not this Brock Lesnar thing, I would have fought him. I didn’t want to fight him in Madison Square [Garden], because I had three weeks, and I know he’s too tough to fight on such short notice.”
“I respect his skill way too much to take him on short notice,” he continued. “I wouldn’t have done that. Hence the Derrick Lewis fight [at UFC 226]. But I fought again, and I won. I probably would have fought again, if not for my back. It’s just a matter of perspective. I guess he felt like he wanted to sit and wait, and that’s what he did. I wouldn’t have done that.”
Cormier’s fight against Lewis ended with a submission in the second round. That was in November. A bit of a layoff, but Miocic, by the time he steps into the octagon at UFC 241, will have been out more than a year.
Meanwhile, as Cormier prepares for the third rematch of his career (Anthony Johnson and Jon Jones being the other two), there’s still a potential trilogy fight with Jones looming. This week, Jones went on a bit of a rant, saying he doesn’t feel the third fight will happen.
Cormier believes the Jones talk is him “maybe trying to divert my attention a little bit to what’s possibly next. I don’t know. He kind of went off, because when I’m doing these interviews, people ask me about him. So I talk about it. And I’m only being truthful.”
“The heavyweight champion of the world is the heavyweight champion of the world,” he continued. And that’s something that doesn’t involve Jon Jones. “As I said time and time again, times have changed. Before, a lot of my security not only in my legacy but also in my financial world was tied to him, because that’s where I sold the most PPVs. I don’t have to do that anymore. I think that doesn’t sit well with him, so he wants to put himself in something that’s really not involved with him.”
While Cormier remains open, though not necessarily committed right now, to a third Jones fight, he did close the door on another bout Wednesday. “I think the book’s closed on Brock Lesnar. For me at least. I’m not worried about nothing that I can’t control. I’m going to fight Stipe Miocic and get my hand raised.”
Watch the full UFC 241 open workout press scrum with Daniel Cormier above!
