Daniel Cormier
Daniel Cormier's rivalry with Jon Jones does not seem to be ending any time soon. In this picture, Cormier celebrates his victory over Derrick Lewis of the United States in their heavyweight title bout during the UFC 230 event at Madison Square Garden in New York City, November 3, 2018. Steven Ryan/Getty Images

Reigning UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will be facing Stipe Miocic at UFC 241 on August 17 at the Honda Center in Anaheim California and according to the 40-year-old mixed martial artist, it could very well be his last one. Having accomplished so much already, D.C. knows that his upcoming title defense will not be an easy one -- perhaps the best way to cap off a colorful MMA career.

Speaking to TMZ Sports, Cormier explained the reason behind his impending retirement. Apparently, he has already surpassed his first plan of retirement and the upcoming rematch could be the perfect swan song for the first fighter to successfully defend the UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight titles as a dual champion.

"I always said that I was gonna fight [until I was 40]," he said. "I couldn't make that one, so if I hold true to what I was saying, then this would be the final one."

The last time Cormier was in the ring was back in November 2018. He faced Derrick Lewis at UFC 230 with the heavyweight title on the line. He won using a rear-naked choke with 2:14 left in the second round to successfully retain the title. Now, he faces Miocic, the very same person he defeated at UFC 226 on July 7, 2018, via knockout. And while most felt that the last encounter was pretty much lopsided, Cormier feels it will be a different fight this time around, the Bleacher Report reported.

"I truly believe he's gonna be a better version of himself," he said. "... I think it'll be a much more difficult fight."

Apparently, Cormier is not the only one expecting a different Miocic to show up at UFC 241. UFC commentator Joe Rogan also expects the Croatian to bounce back and perform better since that sorry loss on his show on YouTube. Curiously, Miocic has kept a low profile since that loss to Cormier.

“Stipe’s an animal, I’m not worried about that. I think he’s going to be better.”

And both apparently have good reason to believe that Miocic will come up with something big. Before that loss to Cormier, the Croatian successfully defended the title three times. That included wins over Francis Ngannou, Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem. There was also that big win he had over Fabricio Werdum, a KO win in the first round to win the UFC heavyweight title. Could these be the things running on Cormier's mind leading up to UFC 241?

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