The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Miocic wants Cormier rematch
While Daniel Cormier was celebrating his win as the new UFC heavyweight champion July 7 in Las Vegas, Stipe Miocic waited patiently to be interviewed.
When WWE wrestler Brock Lesnar stormed into the octagon, and turned the UFC 226 postfight into a three-ring circus, the North graduate and his team bolted out of the ring.
Moments earlier, Cormier knocked out Miocic in Round 1 of their super fight to end Miocic’s more-than-two-year reign as heavyweight champ. It also gave Cormier, the light heavyweight champ, the right to the heavyweight belt.
Losing the belt hurt for Miocic and his team, but Lesnar’s antics — during which he insulted Miocic and Cormier and then pushed Cormier — crossed the line, Miocic said.
“It was a (expletive) and it was disrespectful,” Miocic told ESPN. com about Lesnar at UFC 226. “I didn’t think that was what the UFC was all about.
“I thought they were going to interview me (after the fight) and I was going to ask for a rematch. When Brock came in, I said, ‘I’m out of here, I don’t need this circus.’ How can you give a guy a title shot who hasn’t fought in over two years, is suspended, and his last fight is a no-contest because he was taking PEDs?”
Miocic was gracious in defeat, clapping when Cormier was announced as the new champ, and awarded the heavyweight belt. The 35-year-old said in his postfight news conference he looked forward to spending time with his wife Ryan, who is expected to give birth to the couple’s first child, a daughter, in August.
When asked by The NewsHerald if he wanted a rematch, he said, “Of course.” More than a week later, he’s still on that course, and isn’t overly impressed with Lesnar’s credentials for a title shot against Cormier.
“I want a title shot. I deserve it,” Miocic said. “(Lesnar) hasn’t fought in how long? For him to get a title shot, as I get thrown to the side? It just seems like they are desperate for pay-perviews.
“I cleaned out the division. I defended it more than anyone, and you’re gonna tell me I don’t deserve a chance to get it back? Get out of here. Kiss my (expletive) if you don’t think I deserve that.”
Despite Miocic’s criticism of Lesnar, a former UFC champion who last fought in the octagon in 2016 vs. Mark Hunt, it appears the popular WWE star will get the next shot at Cormier’s heavyweight belt.
After the UFC 226 main event, UFC president Dana White said a Lesnar-Cormier bout will happen when Lesnar’s suspension for PEDs is expired. That will reportedly happen in early January. Lesnar tested positive for PED after defeating Hunt in 2016. That result was overturned to a no-contest.
As for the post-fight Lesnar fiasco in the octagon, Miocic said White gave him a short apology immediately after, but it seemed halfhearted, he told ESPN.com.
“It was like a two-second conversation, he apologized for everything that happened in the cage,” Miocic said. “I just said, ‘Whatever.’ The apology didn’t mean anything. That’s what they want to happen.”
The loss to Cormier put Miocic’s MMA record at 18-3, but he’s still the No. 1-ranked heavyweight contender, and the No. 7-ranked pound-forpounder fighter, according to UFC.com’s rankings. Miocic was No. 2 in the pound-forpound rankings before the Cormier bout.
Because Lesnar is suspended by the UFC, he is not ranked among the top 15 heavyweight contenders.
Asked by ESPN.com if he would accept a fight other than a shot at reclaiming the belt against Cormier, Miocic said, “No.”
If White’s comments about a Lesnar-Cormier bout are true, it appears Miocic will have to play the waiting game while looking for a chance to reclaim the heavyweight belt.