Stipe Miocic Responds To Daniel Cormier, Open To Fighting Late Fall

UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic doubled down on his recent comments about not wanting to fight during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Miocic claimed as long as he couldn’t train at his now-closed gym, he had no desire to compete amid the UFC’s plans for him to have a trilogy fight with Daniel Cormier later this year. He also went on to add in another interview that his priority was firefighting and safety more than fighting.

While Cormier respects that, he also claimed Miocic had a duty as the UFC champion to compete as he urged the Cleveland native to sign the contract on Monday.

“Come on, Champ. Sign the contract,” Cormier said. “Let’s go, like what are you doing? It’s nonsense. I get that you’re a firefighter, we admire all those things about you wanting to help people in this crisis time, but you’re also the champion of the world. Come on, man, let’s get this thing done, sign the contract.”

Miocic would respond on Tuesday reiterating that he can’t fight unless he has a proper training camp. Fighting in August seems to be out of the question as well.

“I have no cage, no training partners, nothing,” Miocic told ESPN. “I need a full camp. I need to be back in the swing of things before I even get into camp, because that’s how you get injured. I’m so used to training all the time and now I can’t do anything. It’s crazy. I have no training. There’s no place for me to train.

“There’s no way I can fight him in August. I have no idea what he’s talking about. The state of Ohio is shut down. What do you want me to do?”

Cormier also claimed he lost respect for Miocic during their rematch last year which ultimately led to his demise. He won’t make that mistake again either.

Provided things work out for Miocic, he is willing to fight Cormier in late fall. As for Cormier’s comments about letting up, the champion wasn’t impressed.

“He let up? I don’t care who you are, I would never let up in a fight,” Miocic said. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. You’re that dumb, you let up in a fight because you felt bad? Hey, whatever gives him confidence, good for him.

“Listen, late fall, whatever is fine. As long as everything works out and we can train and everything is open.”

Do you think we’ll see the trilogy later this year?