After his unanimous decision loss to Stipe Miocic at UFC 252, a disappointed Daniel Cormier insisted he will retire from MMA.
Cormier fought five more rounds with UFC heavyweight champion Miocic but came up short in his attempts to win back the title.
In his post-fight interview, UFC colour commentator Joe Rogan asked if it would be the last time we see “DC” competing in the Octagon.
“It just sucks, being on the losing end of two big fights and trilogies – it’s a very sad position to be in,” Cormier said. “But I will deal with it as I’ve dealt with things in the past.
“I’m not interested in fighting for anything but titles, and I don’t imagine there’s going to be a title in the future. So that’ll be it for me.
“I’ve had a long run. It’s been great. I just fought my last fight for a heavyweight championship, and it was a pretty good fight. It is what it is.”
Though he doubled down on his intentions to hang up the gloves, DC has some more immediate concerns.
Cormier picked up an injury to his left eye in the fight’s third round due to an eye poke from Miocic and was transported to a local hospital following their five-round contest.
Between rounds, Cormier told his corner he couldn’t see out of that eye.
“I mean, look at my eye,” Cormier told Rogan in the same interview. “I couldn’t even (expletive) see the rest of the fight. I can’t see anything out of my left eye. It’s black.
“It is what it is. It doesn’t matter. I told Marc (Goddard) he poked me, but he said he thought it was a punch. But after the fight he said, ‘Yeah, I saw it on the replay.’ I just can’t see out of my left eye. It doesn’t matter, though. Whatever.”
If this is the last time we see Cormier in the Octagon, the former US Olympian leaves behind a stellar MMA legacy.
Whether it was his Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix win after entering the tournament as an alternate or his runs as UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion – one of four dual-weight champions in UFC history – Cormier picked up a serious amount of silverware for a wrestler who only started competing in mixed martial arts at 30 years old.