Daniel Cormier is currently in line to defend his heavyweight title for what could be the last time when he squares off against Stipe Miocic on August 17 at UFC 241.
While he hasn’t openly acknowledged it could be his last fight inside the Octagon, he previously discussed wanting to retire before he turned 40 years old. After hitting that mark in March, he stuck around long enough for a showdown with Brock Lesnar that never came to fruition, with the former WWE champion retiring from the sport in late April.
But for Cormier, solidifying his legacy doesn’t mean retiring on top after defending his title yet again. It would be vanquishing his only real rival, and the only opponent he’s been unable to defeat — Jon Jones.
“It’s all I want,” Cormier said, per ESPN. “When I fight Jones, I feel most complete when I’m preparing for competition against that guy. It makes me train harder. It makes me train smarter. I do everything right in preparation, and I believe that if I do stick around that would be the fight that I do it for. It would be at 205 pounds because I need to go and get that back from him.”
Cormier has fought Jones twice, losing via unanimous decision in 2015 at UFC 182, then getting knocked out in 2017 at UFC 214. That second loss was overturned to a “no contest” after Jones tested positive for a banned substance. He’s continued to have ‘adverse findings‘ in his drug testing in the years following his UFC return, but USADA ruled the small amount has no performance-enhancing benefit.
Jones previously challenged Cormier to a third fight back in December, so it would seem there’s no issue with this showdown happening, it’s just a matter of getting pen to paper and making it official.
