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Stipe Miocic was looking for revenge for heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, and he had exactly that.
That was all but easy in the main event of UFC 241, but thanks to one of the big adjustments in UFC championship history, Miocic brought the belt home by stopping Cormier in the fourth round.
The two big men kicked their legs early because they felt out of reach and in strategy. Cormier got the big initial punches before shooting for a takedown. When Miocic resisted early, Cormier went to get a fork high and easily raised his opponent on his shoulder before hitting him and getting to work inside Miocic's half-guard.
Miocic opened the second with good boxing, bringing Cormier out of reach before the champion managed to penetrate inside and land his own shots. Miocic seemed to believe that he was stung in the eyes a little more than a minute into the round and Cormier jumped to the fork when the referee did not intervene, making crack the biggest of the opponents with powerful blows. Miocic recovered and again increased the heat, one after the other with the champion until the end of the round.
Miocic scored a few goals early in the round to cement that doubt further in the champion 's mind. Cormier, however, did not give up, snow flurries again slowed the exit of the challenger. The most shocking moment in the fight through three rounds came when Miocic defeated former Olympic wrestler Cormier. He was not able to keep the fight on the ground, but it was a moment that seemed to show significant fatigue on the part of the champion.
Miocic found a new weapon in the first round of the championship by repeatedly digging a left hook to Cormier's body. Cormier came back with dice rights, but Miocic had painted a mental mind on Cormier's liver. Miocic landed again in the body before staggering Cormier with a flurry of punches to the head. As Cormier turned against the cage, Miocic offered shots to the helpless champion.
While Cormier collapsed against the cage, taking shot after blow, referee Herb Dean jumped to give up the fight. Miocic made a sign at the waist before dancing a jig in the center of the cage. Cormier was sitting against the cage, his eyes glazed, while the new champion was at the party.
After the fight, Miocic mentioned the decision to drop his punches to the body.
"I knew I was hurting him," said Miocic. "Keep working, keep working, leave something open."
"Get out," Miocic said about his thoughts during the end-of-fight burst. "I'm done, I'm tired, I want to go home."
Cormier discussed the retreat for a while, stating initially that he wanted to hang up his gloves before he reached the age of 40. This step was taken in March.
After the loss, he seemed uncertain of his future.
"You do not make decisions based on emotions, but it's a hard pill to swallow," said Cormier. "At 40, you know, with so many other opportunities, I have to talk to my wife and we need to make an informed decision about what we are going to do."
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UFC 241 updates, highlights
UFC card 241 / results
Stipe Miocic (c) def. Daniel Cormier via fourth round TKO (punches)
Nate Diaz def. Anthony Pettis by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Paulo Costa def. Yoel Romero by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Sodiq Yusuff def. Gabriel Benitez via TKO in the first round (punches)
Derek Brunson def. Ian Heinisch by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Khama Worthy def. Devonte Smith via TKO in the first round (punches)
Cory Sandhagen def. Raphael Assuncao by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Drakkar Klose def. Christos Giagos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Casey Kenney def. Manny Bermudez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Thank you for being past.
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