Dana White Confirms Negotiations are Under Way For Miocic-Cormier Rubber Match

Francis Ngannou may want to steer clear of today’s announcement by UFC President Dana White, who said that the promotion is looking to book a championship trilogy fight between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier.

Cormier got the best of Miocic in their first bout back in 2018 when he knocked out the Cleveland native in the opening round. However, Miocic got revenge on Cormier last month when he finished “DC” in the fourth round to reclaim his belt.

The trilogy bout was confirmed by White, who spoke to Barstool Sports and said the fight will be booked once Miocic recovers from his injuries (via MMAFighting.com).

“Stipe is recovering from that fight. He’s got some bumps and bangs from that fight. We’re waiting for him to heal and then yeah, we’re going to do the trilogy,” White said.

The decision to award Cormier the opportunity over Ngannou may in part be down to Cormier having postponed his retirement to grant Miocic the rematch, and to the fact Cormier had been winning the fight until the decisive fourth round. Nonetheless, the announcement is likely to frustrate other heavyweight contenders, especially Ngannou, who is riding a three-fight win streak and had been the presumptive next challenger for the winner of Cormier-Miocic 2.