MMA
UFC 252: I couldn't see – Cormier says he was 'poked' in Miocic defeat
Daniel Cormier said he was unable to see out of one eye after being "poked" by Stipe Miocic as he ended his career with a "very sad" defeat in the main event at UFC 252.
Miocic retained his heavyweight title in Las Vegas on Saturday, earning a unanimous 49-46, 49-46, 48-47 points victory in the trilogy battle.
Former two-division UFC champion Cormier was reportedly taken to hospital following the eagerly anticipated showdown after suffering damage to his left eye.
Advertisement
The 41-year-old was not happy with the third-round incident that left him with restricted vision.
He said in a post-fight interview with Joe Rogan: "I mean, look at my eye. I couldn't even [expletive] see the rest of the fight. I can't see anything out of my left eye. It's black.
"It is what it is. It doesn't matter. I told Marc [Goddard, the referee] he poked me, but he said he thought it was a punch.
"But after the fight he said, 'Yeah, I saw it on the replay.' I just can't see out of my left eye. It doesn't matter, though. Whatever. It is what it is."
Cormier reiterated the third fight with Miocic would be his last.
— UFC (@ufc) August 16, 2020
He added: "It just sucks, being on the losing end of two big fights and trilogies – it's a very sad position to be in.
"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. I just fought my last fight for a heavyweight championship, and it was a pretty good fight."
Must-Watch Video