Jones duels, two titles & Miocic trilogy - Daniel Cormier's UFC highs and lows

Stipe Miocic claimed a unanimous-decision win at UFC 252 in Las Vegas on Saturday, edging a bruising contest to retain the heavyweight championship.

"It sucks, being on the losing end of two big fights and trilogies - it's a very sad position to be in," said Cormier. "But I will deal with it as I've dealt with things in the past.

"I'm not interested in fighting for anything but titles, and I don't imagine there's going to be a title in the future, so that'll be it for me. I've had a long run, it's been great."

The 41-year-old has certainly left a lasting mark on mixed martial arts and so, to mark the end of a memorable career, we take a look back at some of his highs and lows.

Heading to the arena. Love you. Thanks for the support. Love you all. DC pic.twitter.com/2CwE9ixlUA

— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) August 16, 2020

Cormier's first attempt at claiming a UFC championship did not go to plan. The former amateur wrestler had an unbeaten 15-0 record when he took on Jon Jones but was beaten by unanimous decision.

The conquered Cormier would never get his revenge against Jones. The pair met again in 2017 with Jones this time winning via knockout, although the result was later overturned as the winner tested positive for steroid metabolite turinabol.

Cormier had been preparing to face Ryan Bader later in 2015 when news broke of Jones being stripped of his championship and suspended indefinitely after facing felony charges. The title was suddenly vacant and it was not an opportunity Cormier was going to pass up this time.

He saw off Anthony Johnson to seize the belt in May, recovering from an early overhand right that put him on the canvas.

One of the greatest of all-time. Thanks for the memories, @DC_MMA. pic.twitter.com/4S4eSN1GQa

— UFC (@ufc) August 16, 2020

Hanging onto that light heavyweight belt would prove far from straightforward, Cormier quickly found. His first defence came against Alexander Gustafsson in a gripping encounter in October of the same year.

The entertaining bout went to a split decision in Cormier's favour, although the victor admitted afterwards: "I feel pretty beat up. This is the worst that I've ever been beat."

Cormier was still the light heavyweight king in July 2018 when he sought to become a two-weight champion by taking on Miocic, then in possession of the heavyweight belt, for the first time.

He got his wish in ruthless fashion, dropping Miocic with his right elbow and completing the job on the ground late in the first round, becoming then just the second UFC star - after Conor McGregor - to simultaneously possess titles at two weights.

An initial title defence was successful against Derrick Lewis, but Cormier - who relinquished his light heavyweight championship in December 2018 - then met Miocic again in August of last year. Cormier was ahead on all of the scorecards in the fourth round but an effective barrage of punches swiftly ended his reign.