With Brock Lesnar Reportedly Retired, Daniel Cormier-Stipe Miocic 2 Targeted for August

Brock Lesnar apparently isn’t making another UFC return, so Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic are going to run it back.

According to a report from ESPN on Tuesday, Cormier and Miocic have verbally agreed to a rematch at a UFC pay-per-view event in Anaheim, Calif., on Aug. 17. Cormier defeated Miocic via first-round knockout at UFC 226 last July to briefly become a two-division champion. After the bout, Lesnar confronted Cormier in the Octagon, which appeared to set the stage for a future matchup between the two.

Those plans, according to UFC President Dana White, have changed. White previously said on multiple occasions that he wanted to make Cormier vs. Lesnar, but the bout never materialized. Instead, the WWE talent is staying retired.

“He told me he’s done,” White told ESPN of Lesnar’s plans. “He’s retired.”

Lesnar returned to the Octagon after more than four years away at UFC 200, where he defeated Mark Hunt via unanimous decision. The former heavyweight champion failed two drug tests in relation to the fight, and the result was later overturned to a no contest. Lesnar retired for a second time shortly thereafter; he initially called it a career following a first-round TKO loss to Alistair Overeem in December 2011. He had recently re-entered the USADA drug testing pool in hopes of a comeback.

After besting Miocic, Cormier defended the heavyweight crown with a second-round submission of Derrick Lewis at UFC 230.

Miocic, meanwhile, hasn’t competed since the loss to Cormier. The Ohio-based firefighter was outspoken against Lesnar receiving a title shot in his first bout upon returning to the UFC. Miocic set a heavyweight record with three consecutive title defenses, besting Overeem, Junior dos Santos and Francis Ngannou in succession.

“I’m ready,” Miocic told ESPN. “I’ve been ready. And I’m going to take back what’s mine.”