UFC heavyweight Daniel Cormier was once again involved in a dust-up involving eye-pokes during his contest against Stipe Miocic. The bout took place as the headlining feature for UFC 252 and was significant to determine the Heavyweight GOAT. Referee Marc Goddard temporarily stopped the fight in the first round.

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The break-in action took place due to DC extending his fingers into Miocic’s eye. This setback was, unfortunately, a recurring trend as it took place in their previous outings. The MMA community was engaged in a raging debate about the same heading into the fight. The tables turned, however, as Stipe Miocic poked DC back and caused the challenger to have a swollen eye.

Twitter reacts to Daniel Cormier’s eye-pokes

ESPN’S Ariel Helwani took to Twitter and touched upon the eye-pokes which were a prominent narrative. He is a close ally to DC as they work together for ESPN on the ‘DC and Helwani’ show. During their podcast style program, the two had a discussion about the pokes at length.

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A user on the social media platform couldn’t hide their disgust at the repeating instances of eye pokes. The topic has become a huge point of contention amongst fans of the sport who have followed the trilogy. The fans have been vehemently protesting the tactic that DC utilizes to negate his height and reach disadvantage.

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UFC 252: The tables turn on Daniel Cormier

In a surprising turn of event, Cormier complained to the referee after suffering an eye-poke at the hands of the champion. Danny Segura from MMA Junkie touched reported on the same as the fight played out. Not to mention, the two heavyweight athletes have exchanged multiple fouls throughout their trilogy bouts in the promotion.

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As he went back into his corner heading into the fourth round, Daniel Cormier told his coaches that he couldn’t see. Chiefly, the eye-poke he sustained in the bout left him with a swollen eye and compromised vision. The extent of the damage is unknown as he appeared to fade towards the end of the third round. Moreover, the narrative by the end of the fight will be tarnished by the controversial series of events.

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Darryl Pinto

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Darryl Pinto is a senior MMA writer and editor at EssentiallySports. He is currently pursuing his Sport Business Management degree out of Humber College, Canada and has completed nearly 3 years with the organization. He has also served as the Head of Content for the MLB department. Darryl specializes in predictions, reporting, and covering UFC events live. Having competed in MMA at a collegiate level, he consciously attempts to integrate an athlete's breakdown of MMA techniques like striking, defense, and grappling into his penmanship of the sport as he seeks to give the reader a well-rounded point of view. Before becoming the lead MMA writer, Darryl has also written articles for the NFL and boxing divisions. He began watching UFC 11 years ago at UFC 117 when Chael Sonnen went to war against Anderson Silva.

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