After UFC President Dana White announced that Brock Lesnar would be retiring and no longer challenging current heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier for the heavyweight title, the promotion immediately announced plans for Cormier to take on Stipe Miocic in a rematch for the belt. The UFC is rumored to be looking at booking the fight on the UFC 241 card in August.
The pair previously met last July at UFC 226 in a fight that Cormier won via knockout in the opening round. The loss ended Miocic’s record for heavyweight title defenses at three and snapped a six-fight winning streak which dated back to 2015.
Despite the bout not being officially announced, the betting lines have already been drawn and according to BetOnline, the champion is listed as the slight betting favorite to retain his title at -150 with Miocic coming in as the underdog at +130.
Cormier is currently riding a seven-fight win streak and is undefeated as a heavyweight, going 13-0 while capturing both the UFC and Strikeforce titles.
Cormier was due to retire before his 40th birthday at the end of March, however he suffered an injury in his win over Derrick Lewis last November and the timeline for his retirement has been delayed indefinitely with a rumored final bout against Jon Jones still a possibility after the fight against Miocic.
Miocic has not fought since his loss to Cormier and has been campaigning for a rematch with the champion. Since that fight, the 36-year-old firefighter has become a father after Miocic and his wife welcomed the birth of their daughter last July.