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Outside of a post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Daniel
Cormier didn’t get to say his piece following a unanimous
decision loss to Stipe
Miocic in the UFC 252 main event this past weekend.
Cormier was transported to a nearby hospital shortly thereafter to
be treated for a potential injury that resulted from an accidental
eye poke by Miocic in the third round of their heavyweight title
clash. As a result, “DC” did not attend Saturday’s post-fight press
conference to further address his future.
However, Cormier has frequently said UFC 252 would be his last
fight, and a statement issued on his Instagram account Monday
seemed to confirm those plans. The American Kickboxing Academy
captain was classy in defeat, thanking, Miocic, his family, fans,
team and the UFC for all the support over the years.
“Thank you all for the love and support. Not what I wanted or
expected but it is what it is,” Cormier wrote. “Congrats to
[Stipe
Miocic] on a fantastic fight, was an honor and pleasure to
share the octagon with you for 50 minutes. Boy did we give ‘em a
show everytime. To my team: I love you all to death, you’ve made so
many sacrifices. I hope I made you guys proud. Salina and the kids:
thank you for being my motivation. To all the fans: I love you so
much. You guys push me to try and be great. To [Dana White] and the
[UFC] I have loved every minute. Thank you for giving me the
opportunity. Been a helluva ride, huh?”
If it is indeed the end, the 41-year-old Cormier retires from the
sport with a 22-3 career mark. He was one of only four fighters to
be a simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history, holding
both the heavyweight and light heavyweight belts for a brief period
in 2018. Prior to joining the UFC, Cormier also won the Strikeforce
heavyweight grand prix in 2012. His resume includes notable wins
over the likes of Miocic, Anthony
Johnson, Alexander
Gustafsson, Anderson
Silva, Dan
Henderson, Josh Barnett,
Roy
Nelson, Frank Mir,
Derrick
Lewis, Volkan
Oezdemir and Antonio
Silva, to name a few.
