Miocic, Cormier face off ahead of their tiebreaking heavyweight showdown at UFC 252
SHOWS: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 13, 2020) (UFC - MUST COURTESY 'UFC')
1. WIDE OF NEWS CONFERENCE FOR UFC 252 HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT - (FROM L TO R) CHAMP STIPE MIOCIC, UFC PRESIDENT DANA WHITE, AND CHALLENGER DANIEL CORMIER
2. (SOUNDBITE)(English) DANIEL CORMIER AFTER BEING ASKED IF HE WINS AND THEN RETIRES IS THAT THE GREATEST EXIT IN MIXED MARTIAL ARTS EVER, SAYING:
"But then I think it puts you right alongside the greatest sports athletes of all time...Michael Jordan one with the Bulls when they beat the Jazz, unfortunately he came back, I won't come back, Peyton Manning won a Super Bowl in his last season, it would put me in that type of sphere with some of the greatest athletes that have ever competed across any sports, so when I win on Saturday I will retire in that way."
3. (SOUNDBITE)(English) STIPE MIOCIC AFTER BEING ASKED IF THIS THIRD TIEBREAKING FIGHT IS ABOUT WHO IS THE BETTER MAN, SAYING:
"Yeah, yeah better man, I mean listen, I just have, I wish him nothing but the best, you know, after his retirement but listen I'm here to win and, you know, we're both competitors and we're gonna go out there and give it all we got but, you know, I'm walking out with that belt still wrapped around my waist."
4. (SOUNDBITE)(English) UFC PRESIDENT DANA WHITE AFTER BEING ASKED IF WHOEVER WINS MIOCIC-CORMIER FIGHT SHOULD GO ON THE 'MOUNT RUSHMORE' OF GREATEST EVER MMA FIGHTERS, SAYING:
"The winner of this fight is the greatest heavyweight ever, in mixed martial arts, period. So yeah, these guys are gonna end up on some Mount Rushmore somewhere, you know, two future hall of famers, two of the best to ever do it, and the greatest heavyweight champion ever."
STORY: Heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic and challenger Daniel Cormier faced off Thursday (August 13) after the two spoke to reporters about this weekend's tiebreaking showdown at UFC 252 in Las Vegas.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Cormier said he intends to reclaim the belt he lost to Miocic and then retire as one of the greatest athletes ever, alongside such luminaries as Michael Jordan and Peyton Manning.
The 37-year-old Miocic said his goal is simply to retain his belt and that he has considered retirement after every one of his fights, but feels as good as he ever has heading into Saturday.
The fight will be the third in three years between American Miocic (19-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC), who lost to Cormier (22-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) in 2018 at UFC 226, and then defeated his countryman in 2019 at UFC 241 to retake the heavyweight belt that he still holds.
After that loss Cormier retired and the now 41-year-old promised again Thursday that he was walking away from mixed martial arts no matter the result.
UFC president Dana White proclaimed that the winner of Saturday's match would go down as the greatest heavyweight in mixed martial arts history.
(Production: David Grip)
