Dana White not buying Daniel Cormier’s retirement plans: “This will not be his last fight”

Daniel Cormier claims he’ll retire, win or lose, after his UFC 252 main event battle with Stipe Miocic. UFC President Dana White isn’t buying it.

Cormier originally planned to retire in March, 2019, before his 40th birthday. After White and the UFC convinced him to delay those retirement plans, he’s made it clear that his UFC 252 heavyweight title fight with Miocic will be the last time we see him in the Octagon.

White, however, isn’t buying it. He believes a highlight-reel victory will provide Cormier with enough juice to reconsider his retirement plans. He also believes Cormier will have a tough time retiring after a tough loss.

“No, it’s not (Cormier’s final fight),” White told ESPN this week (via MMA Junkie). “No, it’s not. It’s obviously going to depend on how the fight plays out on Saturday night. If Cormier wins in spectacular fashion, this will not be his last fight. And knowing him the way that I do, if he loses, then it will be, ‘I can’t go out like this.’

“You know me: When people start talk about retiring, I think they should,” White added. “Stipe, who people were saying is probably going to retire after this, too, but he squashed that tonight, I don’t think either one of them should retire. They’re two of the best in the world, and they still have a lot left in them. But we’ll see. We’ll see how the fight goes on Saturday.”

Contrary to these doubts from White, Cormier has been adamant that UFC 252 will mark his final trip to the Octagon, even if he loses.

“I’m a guy with a big ego, and that would suck,” Cormier said. “I’ve got to be honest. To think there would be two guys in my career that were just better than me, and I had multiple chances to beat them, and I didn’t get it done … Yeah, it would suck.”

Cormier and Miocic, two of the best heavyweights ever as White says, have fought twice previously. They first met in 2018 when Cormier, then the light heavyweight champion, moved up to heavyweight division to challenge Miocic for the division’s ultimate prize. Cormier won that first contest by first-round knockout. After Cormier defended the heavyweight title against Derrick Lewis later that year, he and Miocic then rematched in 2019. That time around, Miocic evened the scored, weathering some early adversity to stop Cormier in the fourth round and reclaim the heavyweight title.

Are you with Dana White on this one? Will Daniel Cormier continue fighting after UFC 252?