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Ultimate Fighting Championship
Martial ArtsMixed Martial Arts

UFC 252: Stipe Miocic beats Daniel Cormier to cement his legacy as the greatest heavyweight we’ve seen

  • Miocic settles title trilogy with unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) over former champ in main event
  • Cormier questions ref after third-round eye poke as he walks off into retirement – ‘I couldn’t see the rest of the fight ... It sucks’

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Stipe Miocic celebrates after his victory over Daniel Cormier in their UFC heavyweight championship bout during UFC 252 at UFC Apex on August 15, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photos: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Mathew Scott

Stipe Miocic’s hand was raised – and his position as the greatest heavyweight in UFC history cemented – with a unanimous decision at UFC 252 on Sunday but Daniel Cormier made it as close as a fight could ever possibly get.

This was one for the ages, across five torrid rounds that showed how these two masters of their craft had pretty much worked each other out over two previous editions of their three-chapter epic.

But the 37-year-old Miocic simply threw more, and landed more – and once again the world walks away in awe of his talent, as his overall record goes to 20-3 and his record against Cormier will stand for eternity now at 2-1.

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“Tired,” was Miocic’s reaction to Joe Rogan afterwards. “I just want to go home. He’s a hell of a fighter. God bless him. He’s an amazing champion, an amazing ambassador. He’s a tough dude.

“I knew I had to kick more. He had that first takedown but I think he knew he’d be in trouble if he tried that again.”

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