UFC Champ Stipe Miocic Rules Out Fighting During Pandemic: ‘There’s No Way’

Count the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champ among those that won’t risk fighting during the coronavirus pandemic.

In an interview with The Score on Thursday, Stipe Miocic explained that he would not be competing any time soon, and had other issues to attend to including his family and as a firefighter in his home in Cleveland.

“There’s no way,” said Miocic. “I mean, if I can’t get a full camp, there’s no reason to fight.”

When asked about training, he was frank about how the coronavirus has affected life for him, saying, “Nah, I mean honestly I haven’t been [training], the gym’s been closed [and] we don’t have a lot of stuff at our house, so it’s not really I can do a lot.”

He also explained that the condition of his eye has improved, as the champ has been sidelined due to an eye injury sustained when he faced Daniel Cormier. Miocic was poked in the eye multiple times, and required surgery to correct the damage.

“Definitely getting better,” he remarked. “I’ve still got some spots but nowhere near what it was before.” He also discussed that while he was cleared to train again, then the pandemic hit and everything was placed on hold.

Miocic last fought in August 2019, where he headlined UFC 241 and became the first fighter to finish Cormier to win back his heavyweight crown. In doing so, Miocic also avenged a loss from the year before to “DC,” as Cormier knocked out Miocic in the opening frame at UFC 226. The heavyweight champ has headlined the last six events he has competed in since claiming the belt from Fabricio Werdum in 2016. In his first title run, Miocic set the heavyweight record for the most consecutive defenses with three, by knocking out Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos, along with a decision victory over Francis Ngannou.

The heavyweight king is not the only fighter on the UFC roster that has explained he won’t take a fight while the coronavirus is running rampant. Top-10 welterweight Michael Chiesa also said earlier this week that he wouldn’t think of fighting unless he had a proper training camp. Like Miocic, Chiesa expressed concerns of his fight shape, saying, “I’m not showing up unless I can be at my absolute best.”