“He Did it to Me Multiple Times”- Stipe Miocic Responds to Eye-Poke Incident at UFC 252

Stipe Miocic made his fourth overall defense of the UFC heavyweight title. This meant that he broke the tie of three defenses shared with Randy Couture.

However, a certain section of fans will feel that the champion had an advantage over Cormier in the final two rounds of the fight, thus helping him greatly.

This is because Miocic caught Cormier with a strike that went straight into his eyeball. Cormier protested, but the referee didn’t see it and they continued.  

In the post-fight press conference, Stipe Miocic addressed the fight and the hot topic of the eye pokes. He said, “I felt bad. I wasn’t trying to be intentional. I told him many times I’m sorry during the fight. But what can you do?”

Read: WATCH: Daniel Cormier Complains For an Eye-Poke- Gets Ignored By the Referee

Here, Miocic elected to touch on the eye pokes he had been on the receiving end of in the duo’s clashes at UFC 226 and UFC 241. Following the second encounter where he stunned Cormier with a mid-fight comeback, Miocic underwent eye surgery. 

Stipe Miocic did not realize that he poked Daniel Cormier’s eye

The UFC heavyweight champion said, “He did it to me multiple times, you know? Whatever, it wasn’t on purpose.”

UFC President Dana White too took this train of thought when quizzed about the eye pokes. He said, “I think the eye was hurt before the poke and the poke definitely didn’t help, but you can’t look at it and say ‘Oh the poke’. Stipe got poked hard too. They both got poked”

Stipe Miocic was so engrossed in the fight that he didn’t realize what he had hit. This is because when competing, the fighters focus on causing damage to their opponent. They focus on where the opponent may strike next or how their opponent will respond. 

He reveals that he saw the infraction only when he caught the replay. This is where Marc Goddard saw it too. But they could do nothing, as quite a while had elapsed since the unfortunate fight incident took place.

Miocic said, “I also didn’t realize I poked him in the eye until I saw it in the replay. I was like ‘oh, I totally poked him in the eye’.” 

Read: “I Can’t See Anything!”- Daniel Cormier Responds After Stipe Miocic Loss at UFC 252

Moreover, Cormier holds no ill will towards Stipe Miocic. He agrees that it happened in the fight as the Ohio fighter was attempting to win rounds.

Moreover, given the state of damage considering ‘DC’s’ post-fight interview statements, even a minor stoppage akin to what Miocic got in the first round would not have helped matters.