Daniel Cormier: ‘I annoy Stipe Miocic’

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UFC heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier doesn’t think he has a fan in Stipe Miocic, whom he faces in a rematch this weekend at UFC 241.

Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic don’t really have a feud — not in the way you think of Cormier and Jon Jones, which will go down as one of the greatest rivalries in the sport. But that’s not to say Cormier and Miocic, who meet for the UFC heavyweight title at UFC 241 on Saturday in Anaheim, are best pals, either.

When asked Monday on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show if he gets the impression that Miocic seriously doesn’t like him, UFC heavyweight champion Cormier had a straightforward answer: “I think I annoy Stipe Miocic.”

“I think he’s a respectful guy, so he shakes my hand, says the right things, but I think at his core, he’s like, ‘I can’t stand this dude,’” Cormier said. “We’re just too different. We’re so different from each other — I’m loud, I’m boisterous, I mess around all the time, I’m always cracking jokes, my group of friends are really loud, we’re a bit obnoxious at times. It’s not his style.”

Cormier said it all started when they coached The Ultimate Fighter 27 last year ahead of their first bout at UFC 226. At the time, Cormier was the light heavyweight champion and moved up to face Miocic for the heavyweight belt. Cormier knocked out Miocic in the first round, becoming the second fighter in UFC history to hold two titles at the same time.

“Going into The Ultimate Fighter the first time, I think his idea of me may have been different than it was after the show was over, because we spent so much time together,” Cormier said. “You can have an idea of who someone is, and then when you’re around them too much, you’re like, ‘Oh man, I really don’t like this guy.’ In my idea Stipe didn’t change, but I’m sure after the show his idea of me changed quite a bit.”

The feeling of dislike isn’t entirely one-way traffic from Miocic. According to Cormier, who defends his heavyweight belt for the second time this weekend, there are some things about Miocic that annoy him, too — particularly the fact that Miocic chose not to fight after losing to Cormier until he got an immediate rematch.

“Him sitting out this whole time, I feel like he acted a little bit like a brat, like, ‘I should get a rematch,’” Cormier said. “I just thought he should’ve fought again. It kind of rubbed me the wrong way. But you know what? It worked. Now he gets the chance to fight for the title again.”

Ultimately, not everyone has to like one another in the fight game, Cormier said.

“I do get on his nerves, but whatever. I don’t care,” Cormier said. “Everybody don’t have to like you — what does it matter? Reality is, we have to fight. Once we’re done fighting, we don’t have to be friends. He’s got a great family, he’s got a life, and he can go live his, I can go live mine.

“So, yeah, there are things that we both dislike about each other. But at the end of the day, I’m not losing no sleep about Stipe Miocic not liking me.”