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Morning Report: Daniel Cormier says Stipe Miocic ‘acted a little bit like a brat’ sitting out

August 13, 2019
Esther Lin, MMA Fighting

Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic are two of the most standup guys in MMA. So heading into their heavyweight title rematch at UFC 241, one would assume everything would be roses and sunshine. But despite the general level of respect both men are known for, things seem to be testy ahead of their clash on Saturday night. And while it’s not a full blown grudge match, like the UFC is wont to market things as, there is a bit of animosity going both ways.

Speaking recently with ESPN, Cormier admitted that he and Miocic are not on the best of terms, but unlike his beef with Jon Jones, Cormier just chalks it up to minor personality differences.

“I think I annoy Stipe Miocic,” Cormier said. “I think I annoyed Stipe Miocic after The Ultimate Fighter the first time. I think he’s a respectful guy so shakes my hand and says the right things but I think at his core he’s like, ‘I can’t stand this dude.’ We’re just too different...

“I do get on his nerves but whatever. I don’t care. Everybody doesn’t have to like you. What’s it matter because the reality is we have to fight. Once we’re done fighting, we don’t have to be friends. He’s got a great family, got a life and he can go live his and I can go live mine. I respect all that he does for his community and everything but there are some things that he does that annoy me too.”

The thing that most annoys Cormier is how Miocic handled the loss to him. Cormier took the heavyweight title from Miocic with a first-round knockout. Miocic called for an immediate rematch and then continued to do so with increasing verve, eventually even posting pictures from their fight of himself punching Cormier. This rubbed Cormier the wrong way because, after all, Miocic ended up unconscious in that fight and Cormier says his reaction to the loss was akin to that of a petulant child.

“Him sitting out this whole time, just kind of being a little bit of . . . I feel like he acted a little bit like a brat,” Cormier said. “Like, ‘I should get a rematch!’ I just thought he should have fought again. It kind of rubbed me the wrong way but you know what, it worked and now he gets a chance to fight for the title again. So yeah, there are things that we both dislike about each other but at the end of the day I’m not losing any sleep over Stipe Miocic not liking me.”

It did in fact work. Cormier defended the heavyweight title in a short-notice fight against Derrick Lewis just four months after knocking out Miocic but has not fought since, dealing with a lingering back issue and waiting on the return of Brock Lesnar. When Lesnar retired from MMA earlier this year, that cleared the way for a Miocic rematch. But the way everything played out also steeled Cormier’s resolve to “ruin” Miocic’s career.

“When I lost to Jones that second time it could have been over,” Cormier said. I was crying. I was done. He had broken me to a point where it was gonna be very difficult to pick myself back up. Then all the other stuff kind of happened to where now you’re just kind of back and have to go back and fight and defend this title like you’re supposed to. The reality is, [Stipe] just sat around. He didn’t go back and do what he’s supposed to do. He was talking about me in a way that just was like I annoy him and everything so, you know what man, sometimes you get what you ask for and when you get it, when you really get it like he’s gonna get it on Saturday, now you’ve got to live with that. It’s gonna take a very, very tough man to bounce back from what I do to Stipe on Saturday night.”

UFC 241 takes place on Saturday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA.

MUST-READ STORIES

DC. Daniel Cormier on his retirement: ‘I don’t want to be a guy that goes out on my back’.

Trilogy. Jon Jones: ‘I guarantee you guys there will be no third fight’ with Daniel Cormier.

Ostracized. Nate Diaz talks about being ‘ostracized’ by UFC, claims Dustin Poirier bailed on fight.

Star. Jorge Masvidal doesn’t give Ben Askren credit for surge in popularity: ‘Thank you to your f*cking chin’.

USADA. John Allan fails drug test following victorious UFC Sacramento debut.

USADA. Istela Nunes out of UFC Mexico City with anti-doping violation.

VIDEO STEW

UFC 241 Timeline.

Embedded 1.

Poirier’s cognitive training.

Candid interview with Darren Till.

An interesting look at all the UFC title fight rematches in history.

Kang made a Usman-Covington promo.

LISTEN UP

The Co-Main Event. Discussing Mike Perry’s nose, Nate Diaz, and Daniel Cormier.

Anik & Florian. Recapping UFC Uruguay and previewing UFC 241.

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

The beef continues.

Jon had a busy day yesterday.

“I’m not even mad. Actually I think it’s funny.”

Absolute mad man.

Masvidal respecting Till.

Lando’s got himself a fight.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Jessica Eye (14-7, 1 NC) vs. Viviane Araujo (8-1); UFC 243, Dec. 14.

TODAY IN MMA HISTORY

2010: Miesha Tate won a unanimous decision over Hitomi Akano at Strikeforce Challangers: Riggs vs. Taylor, winning the bantamweight tournament and setting her up for a title shot against Marloes Coenen.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Jon’s steadfast refusal to even consider moving to heavyweight is weird.

Thanks for reading and see y’all tomorrow.

EXIT POLL

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let him know about it. Also follow MMAFighting on Instagram, add us on Snapchat at MMA-Fighting, and like us on Facebook.

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