“It Hurts” – Stipe Miocic Expresses Concern About Daniel Cormier’s Eye Pokes

Eye pokes won’t knock you out, but they can blind you momentarily, which may lead to a knockout. Similar was the case with Stipe Miocic in his first fight with Daniel Cormier. It also affected him in the second fight to a huge extent. However, this time, he plans to take some serious measures in advance.

On August 15, Stipe Miocic — arguably the greatest heavyweight in UFC history — will defend his heavyweight title against the former two-division champion, Daniel Cormier. This rivalry started in 2018 and will most likely conclude in August.

Cormier won the first match in 2018 after knocking out Stipe in the first round. The duo met a year later at UFC 241, a match in which Stipe made an incredible adjustment mid-fight to stop Cormier in his tracks. While the results of both matches seem straightforward, some critics were unhappy with the number of fouls committed by Daniel Cormier.

Many believe that the eye pokes in the first fight led to the knockout of Miocic. And the eye pokes in the second fight required the reigning champion to have a surgery performed on his eye.

Stipe Miocic plans to alert the referee ahead of the match

During a chat with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Miocic said that he is worried about the eye pokes. He acknowledged the damage they can do to a fighter during a match.

“I think it’s a concern in any fight, you know, you don’t want to get your eye poked, it’s not fun. It hurts. It definitely can mess with your vision.”

On several occasions, Daniel Cormier denied intentionally poking Stipe during the fights. And this may be true to some extent as Cormier often hand fights with his opponents to measure the distance. Another popular fighter who uses this technique is Jon Jones. And guess what? He is also accused of intentionally poking his opponents’ eyes.

Stipe thinks Cormier is not lying about the eye pokes.

“You know, if it wasn’t intentional, it wasn’t intentional. He said it wasn’t so I guess that I believe him, we’ll see what happens in the next fight here in about two-and-a-half weeks. But you know, I’m just going to try and keep my calm and not get poked in the eye.”

Furthermore, Stipe stated that he will notify the referee in advance to look out for eye pokes. He also revealed what he will tell the referee.

“Watch out for the eye pokes… Yes, pretty much, plain and simple, honestly.”

What are your thoughts on Stipe Miocic’s plans?

Source: ESPN MMA