Dana White disputes Stipe Miocic’s claim that “fighting will be there forever”

Dana White doesn’t agree with Stipe Miocic that fighting will last forever after the heavyweight champion says he won’t fight during the pandemic.

Daniel Cormier has been clamoring for the trilogy to happen against Miocic for weeks now. Yet, Miocic, who’s also a part-time firefighter, says he’s focused on helping fight the COVID-19 pandemic. But, for White, he’d rather see the heavyweight champ fight and do so often.

Dana White discussed Stipe Miocic today and his delay to return to fighting to book the trilogy with Daniel Cormier via UFC Unfiltered pic.twitter.com/FkE8qaJAlZ

— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) May 5, 2020

“I saw a quote from Stipe recently where Stipe said there’s bigger things going on in the world right now, fighting will be there forever. It’s not true,” Dana White said on UFC Unfiltered. “Fighting will not be here forever. When you’re a professional athlete your window of opportunity is very small. So, hopefully, we can get Stipe back in there soon with Cormier and get the heavyweight division rolling.”

Stipe Miocic hasn’t fought since he TKO’d Daniel Cormier in the fourth round at UFC 241 to reclaim his heavyweight title. Since then, he’s been healing an eye injury and is now on the frontline of this pandemic.

When he returns, he will fight Cormier for the third time in what will be “DC’s” retirement bout.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Miocic has made it clear he won’t fight, especially given the fight he can’t get a full training camp in. For White and the UFC, they need the heavyweight division to be active again and the belt to be defended more than once a year. At UFC 249, Francis Ngannou is taking on Jairzinho Rozenstruik in what appears to be a number one contender bout.

What do you make of Dana White’s response to Stipe Miocic saying he won’t fight during the pandemic? Sound off in the comment section, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 5/5/2020.