It’s clear this one means a lot to Cormier, even if the exceedingly affable champion has kept his comments about the significance of this fight and what a victory will mean to him limited.
“I just don’t like that he still hasn’t fought again and I’ve fought,” said Cormier. “Go beat somebody.”
While Miocic’s case for an immediate rematch was clear, there was also a legitimate argument to be made for a rematch being unnecessary, given how things played out the first time around. But the former champion’s readiness to hold out in hopes of securing a second consecutive bout with Cormier irritated the Louisiana native and fuels him heading into their rematch on Saturday.
“For him to be sitting on the sidelines for a year just rubbed me the wrong way,” Cormier said. “I don’t like people acting entitled. There was no reason for that; he could have beaten someone else and then maybe people would be more interested in him and I fighting again because their last memory is him sleeping on the floor of the Octagon and me standing over him.
“August 17,” Cormier continued, “I beat Stipe Miocic again and this time, I not only beat him in the fight, but I ruin him. This one is really going to stick with him for the rest of his career.”
If that is indeed how things play out this weekend and Cormier moves to 16-0 at heavyweight, with twin victories over Miocic and two successful title defenses in less than a year, his place in the pantheon of all-time greats — both at heavyweight and the sport as a whole — will be assured.
Not bad for a guy who admittedly couldn’t throw a punch when he first started training and is still a month away from the 10-year anniversary of his MMA debut.
