In the 5 key moments that defined Stipe Miocic’s win over Daniel Cormier at UFC 252

LAS VEGAS – The backdrop to the UFC 252 main event heavyweight title fight could not have been more intriguing. It was a “perfect storm” of circumstances, according to UFC president Dana White.

A series tied at 1-1, featuring Stipe Miocic, the only man to ever defend the UFC heavyweight championship three times in a row, and Daniel Cormier, the only man to beat Miocic in a fight championship.

Cormier knocked out Miocic to win the title in 2018. Miocic returned the favor to win it back in 2019.

So Saturday was for all balls – not just a UFC belt, but eternal bragging rights for the winner and the UFC greatest heavyweight award of all time. And oh, on top of all that, that would also serve as the final fight of Cormier’s career. No one knew how the night would turn out, only that she wouldn’t disappoint.

There was no knockout this time around, but Miocic won a hard-fought battle by unanimous decision. Here are five critical aspects of the most important fight in UFC heavyweight history.

End of rounds

The fight consisted of five tight and competitive rounds. According to UFC statistics, Miocic landed 115 important strikes in the fight. Cormier landed 105.

In the rounds that close, the moments can say everything. Visible damage means it all. And Cormier hit the first in the first round, when he shifted Miocic with a right hand moments before the bell.

This blow ruined what had been a very good turn so far for Miocic. And two of the three judges scored it for Cormier.

But wouldn’t you know, the same thing happened in the next round, with the roles reversed. Cormier dominated Miocic in the second round, but Miocic let him down with a wide right cross in the final 10 seconds to steal the round on the three judges’ scorecards.

“Did I fall? Cormier requested his corner between the second and third rounds. “Did I fall?

“No,” replied his trainer, Bob Cook. “But I need you to get your head around this game.”

‘I can not see’

It took a whole year for the UFC to book Saturday’s trilogy fight, and the main reason for the delay was Miocic’s eyes. He had to undergo eye surgery in 2020 after sustaining punch injuries to the eyes during his 2019 fight against Cormier. Miocic told ESPN ahead of the fight that he intends to raise the subject of glances to the referee.

It didn’t take long for this narrative to make an impact on the third fight. Cormier pushed Miocic in the left eye on the first lap.

“My bad, my brother,” Cormier said immediately after the foul. Miocic finally continued.

At the end of the third round, Cormier turned away from Miocic in pain, and as the bell rang to end the round, Cormier yelled at referee Marc Goddard that he had been pushed. Cormier was furious as he walked back to his corner, even prompting Goddard to walk him home and say, “Daniel, you got hit.

Acceptance. pic.twitter.com/JMNjKPzURz

– Marc Goddard (@marcgoddard_uk) Aug 16, 2020

However, replays would show that Miocic’s left hand was open during one of the punches and his outstretched fingers were sunk into Cormier’s left eye. After the fight, Cormier refused to complain about Miocic’s intentions at the time, but was still openly passionate about the fault.

“I mean damn, look at my eyes,” Cormier said after the fight. “I can’t see with my left eye. It’s black. It’s black. That’s what it is. It doesn’t matter.”

“I felt bad,” Miocic said. “But it wasn’t intentional. I said, ‘Sorry,’ during the fight. What are you going to do? He did it to me a few times. Anyway, mine was not on purpose. Honestly, I didn’t know I pushed him in the eye until I looked up, saw the replay and said, ‘Oh, I completely stung him in the eyes. eyes. My pain. ‘ “

Before the night was over, Cormier would tell ESPN he had been diagnosed with a torn cornea and Goddard would issue a public apology for missing the blame.

Melee

Miocic beat Cormier in the second meeting largely thanks to a mid-fight adjustment – a decision to rip Cormier’s body with his left hand. He made another key mid-fight adjustment in the third fight – working the melee.

About 90 seconds into the third round, Miocic’s corner told him to push Cormier into the fence and keep him there. This position became a Miocic favorite the rest of the time, as he held Cormier in the clinch for extended periods of time in the third, fourth and fifth rounds.

Immediately after the fight, Cormier admitted that this could have been the deciding factor in a very close fight. The judges eventually scored him for Miocic 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47.

“I think it separated the tight rounds,” Cormier said.

Where was the struggle?

The smaller cage in the UFC’s Apex facility was supposed to favor Cormier, the strongest wrestler and a former Olympian. And after giving up the fight in his second fight against Miocic, Cormier vowed not to make the same mistake on Saturday.

“I love to fight at the Apex,” Cormier said earlier this summer on ESPN’s DC & Helwani Show. “That old leg is going to be right in front of me to grab it. If you want to see a 25 minute standing fight, that’s not what you get. I hope Stipe has his wrestling shoes on, because with the little one cage, one leg [takedown], one leg, one leg, one leg – wrestling. “

And Cormier got one out in the first round, but that was it. He only tried one more, and it didn’t work.

Cormier had said it wasn’t as easy as it sounds taking down an athlete like Miocic, who said he worked more on his wrestling during this training camp.

But it turned out that Miocic didn’t need those wrestling shoes.

Opposite directions

While many no doubt want to know more from Cormier about his future, as of now, the 41-year-old legend says he’s done. Before leaving the UFC Apex facility, he told commentator Joe Rogan he didn’t expect to fight again.

“I’m not interested in fighting for anything other than titles, and I don’t imagine there will be a title in the future,” Cormier said. “That’s it for me. I had a long race. It was awesome. I just fought for my last heavyweight championship fight and it was a really good fight.”

During the post-fight press conference, White said he still didn’t think Cormier was going to retire, a prediction he also made before the fight.

Miocic, on the other hand, has said he will absolutely continue to fight and even joked at the press conference about the rumors that he was also considering retiring.

Heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou, who lost to Cormier in 2018 but has since won four fights by first round knockout, watched the fight from his home in Cameroon and told ESPN by phone that he would love to face Miocic in December. . White confirmed at the press conference that Ngannou will get the next title.

If there’s a key to those plans, it’ll be light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who also threw his name in the ring to take on heavyweight GOAT.

“Avoid Stipe’s right hand, I’m too fast, I’ll be too strong when the time comes, and I’ll have way too much energy,” Jones wrote on Twitter. “Soon and very soon, I’ll be considered the meanest man on this planet.”