Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic went to war in the main event of UFC 252. And a what a fight it was. Daniel Cormier got Miocic in trouble at the end of the first round. Stipe Miocic got Daniel Cormier hurt in the second round.
It was a fight for the ages. Daniel Cormier got Stipe Miocic in the exact sequence that got him the victory over Miocic in the first fight. However, this time Stipe Miocic was not falling down. Stipe Miocic got DC in the exact sequence at the end of round 2 that got him the victory in the rematch. But, Daniel Cormier survived the fury of Miocic.
Despite so many high points in the fight, this historic battle had some controversial moments. Daniel Cormier eye poked Stipe Miocic early in the fight and Miocic returned the favor later in the fight. Following the eye poke, Daniel Cormier could not see anything from his left eye. And undoubtedly this had a huge impact on the outcome of the fight.
Stipe Miocic and Dana White reacts to the eye pokes
Without taking anything away from Miocic, this was an unfortunate and unpleasant sight to watch. In the post-fight press conference, Stipe Miocic addressed the eye pokes in the fight and stated:
“I felt bad. It was not intentional. I even told him sorry 45 times during the fight. He did it to me multiple times. It was not on purpose. Atleast mine was not on purpose. I was not trying to.”
“I mean it hurt. I thought I gave him one. I did not realize I did. Honestly, I was not trying to. Until I looked at the reply in between rounds, I felt bad about it. It was non-intentional. But yeah it hurt. It just burnt for a little bit but it was fine.”
UFC president, Dana White issued a statement on the eye pokes during the fight and said:
There were two eye pokes. They both got poked in the eye. And for Cormier, that eye was hurt before the poke. We got a group text that goes on. I was like, there was something wrong with Cormier’s eye. That did not help. But they both got poked. You can’t use that as an excuse.
Despite the result, Daniel Cormier is still one of the greatest to ever grace the UFC octagon. And after the historic win, Stipe Miocic has cemented his legacy as the baddest man on the planet.