UFC President Dana White went on First Take on Tuesday and announced that the rubber match between heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier is official for August 15.
UFC President Dana White has confirmed that the trilogy between reigning heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and former two-division champion Daniel Cormier is official for August 15. The pair have split the previous encounters, with Cormier winning their first fight via first round knockout and Miocic exacting revenge in the rematch with a fourth round finish.
❤️ ❤️ ❤️ pic.twitter.com/LGihyhWkhT
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) June 8, 2020
UFC Heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic (19-3) has etched his place in history with one of the most impressive runs in the modern era of the division of the UFC. His resume reads like a list of all-time greats of the last decade with victories over Cormier, Francis Ngannou, Junior dos Santos, Alistair Overeem and others. Outside of the cage, Miocic has continued to work as a firefighter in his home of Cleveland amidst the coronavirus pandemic. When looking at the current state of the division, a second victory over Cormier would arguably complete his sweep of the weight class and further his case as one of the best in heavyweight history.
Daniel Cormier (22-2) holds the distinction of being the most decorated fighter to turn analyst in MMA history. After winning the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, Cormier joined the UFC and went on a run that saw him win the light heavyweight title in 2015 and defend it against the likes of Anthony Johnson and Alexander Gustafsson before going back up to heavyweight in 2018 to win the heavyweight championship against Miocic. Alongside his fight career, Cormier has developed his career as a media personality as a commentator on the UFC’s broadcasts as well as working for ESPN with the DC and Helwani podcast and through the Kobe Bryant produced series Detail on ESPN+. Cormier has also said that the fight with Miocic will be the last of his career.
In recent weeks, Cormier has taken frequent aim at Miocic about his comments that he is unable to prepare for the fight and continuing to push back the date of their match-up. The speculation about when the two will collide has also led to frustration in the heavyweight division as contenders like Francis Ngannou have waited for the two to settle their score so that they may get their own shot at UFC gold.
