New Orleans — Daniel Cormier has held the UFC heavyweight title for a little over a year now, and has a rematch on Saturday with man he dethroned. Cormier will have round two with former heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic as the main fight on the UFC 241 card, where he’ll look to defend his title for a second time. When they first met in July of 2018, DC knocked-out Miocic in the first round. He says this time he’s expecting a tougher battle.
“I do believe he’ll do some things tactically different,” Cormier said. “I think he’ll try to fight at range a little bit more than he did during the last fight. I don’t anticipate the same fight. I anticipate a much different fight. I think it’ll be a much longer, harder fight for me to win. I do respect all that he’s accomplished. I think by the time we get in the octagon, his motivation and everything will be evident because he’ll have a better performance.”
Cormier, who is a native of Lafayette, Louisiana, said in a satellite interview Thursday, that from his side he knows what to expect in his opponent. He said he’s felt Miocic’s power and his speed and will be on-guard for whatever comes his way Saturday night. Miocic has a significant height and reach advantage (DC is 5’10” and Miocic is 6’5″, with a 72.5″ and 80″ reach respectively) which is why he said he expects him to keep his distance and fight off of the jab. With that said, Cormier said each fighter needs to bring all their tools to the octagon for this one.
“He’s got to do everything,” Cormier said. “If he’s just boxing, if he’s just kicking, that’s not good enough. You’ve got to do it all– as do I. I’ve got to do it all. I’ve got to mix everything up if I’m going to get the job done again. I think last fight I threw kicks, I wrestled from the clinch, I was able to box. I didn’t do one thing in order to beat him. I just did it all. I think that’s what we both have to do to find success on Saturday night.”
Cormier (22-1) and Miocic (18-3) will be the last fight on the card, which also features the much anticipated return to the octagon for Nate Diaz, who hasn’t fought in 3 years. Diaz and Anthony Pettis will be the welterweight bout right before.
