Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic enthralled fans with the final edition of their trilogy from the UFC Apex. The fight saw both competitors have the chance at claiming the unofficial title of heavyweight GOAT by leaving UFC 252 as the champion. Their war seemed close to observers, with Miocic leading ever so slightly.
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However, eye pokes came to the fore once more, with ‘DC‘ landing one within fifteen seconds of the contest. Referee Marc Goddard spotted this. Unfortunately for the challenger, he did not spot a similar infraction from the champion towards the end of round three.
In the break between rounds three and four, ‘DC’ told his corner that he couldn’t see. After losing in what was to be his swansong, Cormier shed light on his eye troubles when talking to Joe Rogan.
He said, “Yeah, I mean, look at my eye. Yeah, I couldn’t even f***ing see for the rest of the fight.”
Read: WATCH: Daniel Cormier Complains For an Eye-Poke- Gets Ignored By The Referee
The American Kickboxing Academy UFC fighter added, “I can’t see anything out of my left eye. It’s black, I mean it is what it is you know? I told Marc he poked me. He said it was a punch and then afterwards he said yeah, I saw it on the replay. I just can’t see out of my left eye. It is what it is.”
Daniel Cormier will not return to the UFC
Despite suffering a setback, ‘DC’ has said that he is done and is not looking to go out on a win. He said, “It just sucks being on the losing end of two fight- trilogies. But I will deal with it as I have dealt with it in the past.”
Given his career of fighting as champion or challenger, Cormier may not have wanted to take a step back and compete amongst the contenders. Also, at 41, he does not know how many grueling battles he can take before reaching the pinnacle of the division.
He said, “I’m not interested in fighting for anything but titles, I don’t imagine there is going to be a title in the future, so that’ll be it for me. I’ve had a great run, I just had my last fight for the heavyweight championship. It was a pretty good fight.”
Read: Jon Jones and Fans React on Twitter as Stipe Miocic Ends Daniel Cormier’s Career
Daniel Cormier has had a UFC career that most fighters will dream of. He will not walk away without serious thought, and the decision serves as a sign that Cormier knows his time as a professional fighter is over.
Furthermore, the fighter has headed straight to the hospital following the fight. There is no word yet on how serious his eye injury is.
