Photo : Sam Wasson ( Getty ) One day before Daniel Cormier fought Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title, he appeared on a Fox preview show, where he was asked by co-host Michael Bisping to expound upon his theory that he’d knock Miocic out to win the belt. Cormier confidently explained, “There are some things that he does, especially when you get out of clinch positions, where his hands are pretty low and that chin is way up in the air. He’s got a big ole face, and I’m gonna try to crack him upside his head.” That’s almost exactly what went down. Thankfully, Cormier looked completely unaffected by his strange fall at the presser on Thursday, and he overwhelmed Miocic in the first round. With around 30 seconds left in the round, Cormier wrapped up Miocic in the clinch, and as soon as the two fighters began to separate, Cormier smashed Miocic’s chin with a nasty right hook. It was just like Cormier said; Miocic’s left hand was nowhere near his face, and DC got a free shot off. Advertisement Sure, every fighter predicts that they’ll win by knockout, but Cormier said exactly how he was going to do it, and he even publicly exposed a flaw in Miocic’s game that his camp could have worked to cover up before the fight. The Daddest Man On The Planet is a worthy champ, and I hope he kicks Brock Lesnar’s ass.<doc-sep>Stipe Miocic has issued a statement shortly following his shocking first-round knockout loss to Daniel Cormier at UFC 226. Cormier was able to catch Miocic with a right hand late in round one which sent Stipe crashing to the canvas. From there, “DC” would unleash some heavy ground and pound which put his opponent to sleep (watch that here). The now former “Baddest Man On The Planet”, Stipe Miocic, took to Twitter shortly following the conclusion of tonight’s main event where he shared the following photo and message to his fans. Tonight wasn’t my night. I’m feeling good. Thanks to all my fans for the support. Love you guys! See you back in The Land! pic.twitter.com/D2KUR4ex4d — Stipe Miocic (@stipemiocic) July 8, 2018 “Tonight wasn’t my night. I’m feeling good. Thanks to all my fans for the support. Love you guys! See you back in The Land!” – Stipe Miocic The loss snapped a six fight win streak for Miocic, who had previously earned knockout victories over Junior dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum, Andrei Arlovski and Mark Hunt. This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM<doc-sep>Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images It was the chance of a lifetime for two men. For Daniel Cormier, Saturday's UFC 226 fight against Stipe Miocic in Las Vegas represented the ultimate opportunity: a chance to cement himself as one of the greatest fighters in the promotion's history and likely the undisputed greatest of all time. Yes, this is despite his losses to Jon Jones. Cormier will always live in the shadow of Jones' greatness—at least in the eyes of fans who are willing to overlook the latter's personal darkness and the pall it casts over his career. And yet, this remains true: A man who can win a championship in the UFC's light heavyweight division and then move up a weight class to face a man who might be the greatest of all time in his weight class—and then beat that man resoundingly in the first round—is either the greatest of all time or at worst in second place. For Miocic, it was the chance to vault over the vaunted career and legacy of the Russian mauler, Fedor Emelianenko, and become known as the greatest heavyweight ever. No UFC heavyweight has established a long-lasting legacy; this is because heavyweights, as the old saying goes, hit like heavyweights. They are bruisers. One punch can end a dominant title reign. There was a time when Cain Velasquez was considered unbeatable, and then, on the UFC's network television debut, Junior Dos Santos melted Velasquez and his dominance away like so much sand in rising tide waters. In the end, it was Miocic who was blasted by the rising tide of Cormier's right hand, and it was Cormier who became, if not the greatest fighter in UFC history, at least a close second to Georges St-Pierre. Video Play Button Videos you might like Christian Petersen/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images The ending came in close quarters—the very place Cormier experienced the most successful moments of his early heavyweight career. He wasn't planted on two feet. The punch he threw won't show up in any sort of illustration of perfect technique. And yet it was enough to drop Miocic to the canvas, where Cormier pounced and finished the job with a few punches to Miocic's unprotected face. "I am 39 years old. I've been second a lot of times. From crying in the Octagon a year ago, to being the UFC heavyweight champion today," Cormier told Joe Rogan after the fight on the UFC pay-per-view. "This is the most amazing thing I have ever experienced." But then, it was time to move on from Miocic. For Cormier seems to already have his next opponent. Former UFC heavyweight champion (and current WWE Universal champion) Brock Lesnar looks set to return to the Octagon to face Cormier after he serves a suspension from the USADA. "There's a guy I've known for a long time. He's a wrestler. He's an All-American," Cormier said. "I never thought I would fight him. Brock Lesnar, get your ass in here." And Lesnar did, indeed, head into the Octagon. He shoved Cormier and then said he'd come into the UFC a decade ago to wreck the heavyweight division, and he was back to wreck the newest slate of heavyweights. Cormier, who speaks with Lesnar frequently and considers him a friend, was clearly thrilled at the prospect of facing a man with whom he will make a great deal of money—win or lose. "DC, I am coming for you, motherf--ker," Lesnar said. And thus, possibly the UFC's biggest fight of 2018 was born. But beyond the pro wrestling histrionics—which were welcome and entertaining in a UFC product that is growing boring—lies the simple fact that Cormier is perhaps the best fighter in the history of the sport. Yes, he has lost to Jones. Multiple times. But the nature of those losses, considering the failed drug tests from Jones, should make you question them. What is not questionable, however, is the notion that Cormier has done what no other man has been able to do: He has won the light heavyweight and heavyweight championships, and he's done it at the same time. He is no longer just the Daddest Man on the Planet. Now, he's the undisputed Baddest Man on the Planet.<doc-sep>
UFC 226 on Saturday night in Las Vegas concluded in shocking fashion with Daniel Cormier becoming only the second simultaneous two-division champion in promotion history -- joining Conor McGregor -- when he knocked out heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in the first round. On Monday, the former champion collected his thoughts to offer up his congratulations to Cormier, while also calling for a chance to run it back. Can't get enough UFC? Subscribe to my podcast In This Corner with Brian Campbell where I break down everything you need to know in the Octagon. Miocic took to Twitter on Monday and the former heavyweight king praised the efforts of Cormier on Saturday, while also asking for a rematch and adding in that he's now more motivated than he has ever been. It didn't take long for the new heavyweight and reigning light heavyweight champion to see the tweet and offer up a response. The thing about the response, though, is it doesn't appear as if DC is all too interested in giving Miocic the rematch that he's inquiring about. After making history by defending the heavyweight championship a record three consecutive times, it's crazy to say that Miocic doesn't deserve the chance at redemption. But the reality of the business is that he doesn't seem to fit into the UFC or Cormier's future plans at the moment. The new heavyweight champion has expressed his plans to retire in March 2019 when he turns 40 years old. Since Saturday, he has also revealed he plans to defend his 205-pound title before moving back up to the heavyweight ranks to square off with the man who entered the cage to confront him following the historic win on Saturday: former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. Doing the math, Miocic doesn't fit into the equation. There's a good chance that, some time in 2019, Miocic will get an opportunity to reclaim the UFC heavyweight championship. But if he's looking to reclaim it from the man who took it from him, he'd better not hold his breath.