Miocic defeats Cormier to reclaim UFC heavyweight title

Stipe Miocic defeated Daniel Cormier in the UFC 241 main event Saturday night to again become the heavyweight champion.

For several rounds it seemed like Miocic might lose his second consecutive fight against Cormier, the defending heavyweight champ. Cormier beat him at UFC 226 in July 2018, knocking him out in the first round.

But this time Miocic staged a comeback in the fourth round, delivering several body shots and right-handed blows to Cormier’s head that ended in a knockout to reclaim the title.

“He’s an amazing fighter,” Miocic said of his opponent at a post-fight news conference. “He makes people feel uncomfortable in there. He did that for the first two rounds but then I started to get my bearings straight. I saw him slowing down and I thought, ‘Okay, this is where I take it now.'”

Before losing to Cormier last year, Miocic, 35, was the first UFC heavyweight champion to defend the title three times.

Cormier, 40, the first and only UFC fighter to defend titles in two weight classes, has hinted that Saturday’s fight could be his last.

“Everybody asks about [retirement], but that’s what happens when you turn 40,” Cormier told CNN on Thursday. “I feel great. I wanna get through this weekend, and then I’ll sit with my family, and we’ll figure out what’s going on. It’s a real thing, though. Father Time catches up to everybody.”