Heavyweight Champ Stipe Miocic Targets Summer UFC Return as Eye Continues to Heal
Stipe Miocic is making slow but steady progress as he continues to recover from eye surgery.
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“The eye is really good actually,” Miocic told TMZ Sports. “It’s getting healed up, getting better every day, and I’m just getting back in the gym slowly.
“I still have some spots, that’s still there,” he added. “But it
can stay, it can go, it depends, but it’s not really messing with
my vision so I’m happy about that.”
Miocic suffered retina damage after being on the receiving end of some eye pokes from Cormier in their championship bout. For now, he is taking things slowly in the gym.
“Just kind of making my way in there,” Miocic said. “Just trying to get in better shape and know how my body feels and making sure my eyes feel good.”
Miocic initially lost the heavyweight crown to Cormier via first-round knockout at UFC 226 in July 2018 before regaining the belt a little more than a year later. The 37-year said it’s “looking like summer” for his return, and he sounds ready to conclude his rivalry with Cormier. That’s a change from recently, when his manager said the heavyweight was looking at options other than “DC” for his return fight.
“Yeah, if that’s what the UFC wants,” Miocic said of the Cormier fight. “I’m not the matchmaker. Like I always say, if I was the matchmaker I wouldn’t be fighting.”
