UFC: Daniel Cormier wants Francis Ngannou if Stipe Miocic is stripped – ‘I’m not afraid of anyone’
- ‘If Stipe won’t fight, they’re going to make a fight between Francis and I for the belt. It’s as simple as that,’ says Cormier
- ‘DC’ vows he won’t trade with ‘The Predator’, though – ‘if I stand there, he would knock me out … I would wrestle him the whole time’
There aren’t many men who willingly want to step in the Octagon with Francis Ngannou. And some of the ones who do, like Jairzinho Rozenstruik, end up paying a heavy price.
“If Stipe won’t fight, then Francis Ngannou has earned a title fight,” Cormier said on the post-event show on ESPN. “If somebody is fighting Francis Ngannou for the title, it’s going to be me. All respect in the world to Francis Ngannou, but I’m not afraid of anyone.
“I’ll fight anybody on any planet. I love Francis, I think he’s a sweetheart person. I would love to do my trilogy with Stipe Miocic, but if Stipe won’t fight, they’re going to take his belt just like Henry [Cejudo] gave up his and they’re going to make a fight between Francis and I for the belt. It’s as simple as that.”
Heavyweight champ Miocic has said his duties working part-time as a first responder in Ohio during the Covid-19 pandemic are more important than fighting right now, despite UFC president Dana White saying the division needs to keep moving.
“We got to figure out this Stipe vs. Cormier thing, or figure out if we end up doing a fight with Francis,” White said at the UFC 249 post-event press conference. “We’ll get that figure out soon.”
