The main event of UFC 241 did not disappoint, as UFC Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier and former champ Stipe Miocic went toe-to-toe with gold on the line. Cormier won the first three rounds but tired in the fourth, and Miocic took over, finishing DC with strikes. Miocic regained the heavyweight title, while for Cormier it was his first career loss at the sport’s heaviest weight class.
Immediately after getting knocked out, Cormier was interviewed by UFC color commentator Joe Rogan inside the Octagon, where he was asked what’s next. DC replied that he has not made his mind up about his future just yet. Now 40 years old, Cormier said he wants to sit down with his family and discuss his fighting future before he makes a decision. He deserves some time to think things through. As one of the most respected fighters to ever compete in MMA, any decision he makes about his career would be one that anyone could respect. If he decides to retire after getting knocked out by Miocic, how could you fault him? After all, he is doing extremely well with his broadcasting career. But if you ask me, DC shouldn’t retire off of this loss. He still has so much more to give to this sport, so I believe he should fight one more time.
If he does choose to return, Cormier only has two options for his return bout, which I believe should be the last fight of his Hall of Fame career. He either stays at heavyweight and fights Miocic in a trilogy fight, or he goes down to light heavyweight and fights Jon Jones for a third time there. Either fight would be a fitting end to his career.
Cormier is a competitor, and no competitor wants to go out on a loss, especially not someone as proud as he is. Looking back, maybe he should have hung up his gloves after he beat Miocic the first time, because that would be going out on top. But after this knockout loss to Miocic, retiring now isn’t exactly leaving the sport on his own terms; DC should give it one more go and see if he can retire off of a win. He was, after all, winning the fight before falling victim to Miocic’s body shots.
Plan B for Cormier would be a fight against Jones. Although the UFC Lightweight Champion handed Cormier his first knockout defeat in their last bout, the subsequent reversal of the decision to a No Contest means that technically speaking, DC is only 0-1 to “Bones,” so a win would not only avenge his first loss, but in terms of official records, it would even the score.
I’ll admit that I have no idea what decision Daniel Cormier is going to make about his future. I think he feels conflicted, because as much as he thinks it’s a good idea to retire and spend more time with his family, he also wants to go out on a win. Of course, there’s no guarantee that things will go well for DC if he fights Jon Jones or Stipe Miocic again — he might go out on two devastating knockout losses instead of just one — but he has to give himself the chance. As a fan of the sport, I hope DC decides to fight once more. Win or lose, he can go out on his own terms, fighting for the world championship against a fellow Hall of Famer. I hope that DC chooses to make another run at greatness. He doesn’t have to make that decision, but it would be great if he did.
• Daniel Cormier vs. Stipe Miocic (UFC Heavyweight Championship): Stipe Miocic def. Daniel Cormier via knockout (punches) at 4:09 of Round 4.
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 UFC 241: Cormier vs. Miocic 2 took place August 17, 2019 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
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