Daniel Cormier Won't Retire from UFC, Wants Rematch Fight vs. Stipe Miocic

Daniel Cormier wants a rubber match with Stipe Miocic before he retires from UFC. 

"I'm gonna fight this guy again," Cormier said Monday on Ariel Helwani's MMA Show (h/t Marc Raimondi of ESPN). "My intention is to fight him in the right way. ... It has to be against Stipe. No one else matters."

Cormier defeated Miocic to become the UFC heavyweight champion. Miocic won back the title at UFC 241 in August.

Cormier indicated in January 2018 he intended to walk away from MMA when he turned 40 this past March. Those comments came before he toppled Miocic to simultaneously hold the heavyweight and light heavyweight belts.

A return bout with Miocic was obviously too good to turn down, thus forcing Cormier to amend his retirement plans slightly. Now, he made it clear he feels he has unfinished business with the current champ.

Cormier told Helwani he likely would've called it a career if he had defeated Miocic for a second time in Anaheim, California.

ESPN's Brett Okamoto speculated earlier this month Cormier could rekindle his rivalry with Jon Jones.

Jones won a unanimous decision at UFC 182 in January 2015 and knocked out Cormier in the third round at UFC 214 in July 2017. The result was thrown out and ruled a no contest after Jones failed a drug test. 

Jones teased a big announcement to come, and Okamoto wrote Cormier "has always been obsessed with the idea of beating [Jones]."

Instead, that would appear to be off the table.

Likewise, fans have already abandoned hope of seeing Cormier oppose Brock Lesnar in the Octagon. They appeared headed for a confrontation after Lesnar interrupted Cormier's post-fight celebration at UFC 226.

However, Lesnar chose to stay in WWE and keep his focus on professional wrestling rather than pursue another UFC return.

Narratively speaking, beating Jones, thus overcoming his biggest rival, would be the perfect way for Cormier to walk away. A win over Miocic in his farewell would still carry plenty of satisfaction and provide him with one more big payday before retirement.