Stipe Micoc hasn’t dismissed the idea of training with Daniel Cormier to prepare for a fight with Jon Jones, but it doesn’t sound like it’s something that’s a part of his current plans.
The 40-year-old was in attendance for last weekend’s UFC 285 card in Las Vegas, which saw a pair of new champions crowned in the event’s top two bouts. Alexa Grasso’s win over Valentina Shevchenko in the co-main event is already the frontrunner for the year’s biggest upset, but the clear fight of interest for Miocic was the heavyweight main event between Jones and Ciryl Gane.
Francis Ngannou’s exit from the UFC earlier this year left the promotion’s heavyweight title vacant, and at UFC 285 Jones returned from a three-year layoff to capture his second UFC belt with a first-round submission. Having already defeated a former interim champion in Gane for his heavyweight debut, it now appears that “Bones” will meet former two-time Heavyweight Champion Miocic for his first title defense.
Miocic Has No Plans To Train With Cormier Before Jones Fight
Micoc has been bombarded with questions about Jones following the latter’s win at UFC 285, and during an interview with TMZ Sports the 40-year-old was asked if he had any plans to train with his former opponent Cormier in order to prepare for the new heavyweight champion.
“No, no. I mean maybe, maybe not,” Micoc answered. “I don’t know. Right now just gonna keep getting better and grinding away, and you know make myself the best I can be.”
A former heavyweight and light heavyweight champion himself, Cormier occupies the unique position of having fought both Miocic and Jones on multiple occasions. “Bones” handed Cormier the first loss of his MMA career at UFC 182 but was later stripped of his title, which “DC” claimed before losing again to Jones at UFC 214 in a fight that was later changed to a No Contest.
Cormier moved to heavyweight in 2018 and stopped Miocic in the first round to claim his second UFC title, but the 43-year-old ended his career in 2020 after suffering two-straight losses to the Cleveland-native to close out their trilogy.
Miocic holds the UFC record for heavyweight title defenses but was knocked out by Ngannou in his most recent fight, and matchup with Jones would give the 40-year-old a chance to achieve the unique feat of becoming heavyweight champion on three different occasions.
What do you think of the suggestion that Miocic should bring in Cormier to prepare for a fight with Jones?
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