UFC 252 Daniel Cormier loses to Stipe Miocic via decision in swan's song

It was a strange fight, and certainly a competitive one, but the ultimate result was that Stipe Miocic defeated Daniel Cormier via unanimous decision, retaining his UFC heavyweight title and earning the honors of going 2-1 in the Miocic vs. Cormier trilogy.

Cormier looked sharp early on, nearly knocking Miocic down with a right hand late in the first round. Miocic would respond late in the second, dropping Cormier and mounting the former champ as the round came to a close.

The fight slowed down in the third round, with Cormier still recovering from the shots he took at the end of the second, and Miocic content to just push him to the fence and score points.

However, it was a Miocic eye poke in the closing seconds of the round that became the subject of much discussion. Referee Marc Goddard missed the eye poke, much to the chagrin of Cormier. As a result of this eye poke, Cormier was potentially compromised for the remainder of the fight.

The last two rounds were still competitive, but Miocic edged out Cormier on output. The judges all scored the fight for Miocic, bringing a strange and interesting trilogy to an end.

In their first contest, at UFC 226, Cormier won via first round KO, in another fight marred by eye poke controversy. Miocic then took the belt back from Cormier at UFC 241 with a fourth round TKO.

After the fight, Cormier reaffirmed his intent to retire. “I don’t think there’s a title in my future,” he said. “I’ve had a long run.” The 41-year-old ends an accomplished career in combat sports which included a Strikeforce title, UFC titles in two different weight divisions, and of course an accomplished career in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.