Stipe Miocic made the better adjustments to beat Daniel Cormier by unanimous decision and retain his UFC Heavyweight crown at UFC 252 held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada Sunday morning.
Miocic controlled the fight with his striking. A new wrinkle was Miocic pushing Cormier against the cage during long stretches of the fight to contain the latter’s grappling.
With this strategy Miocic won every round except the first, in two judges’ score cards, to post the decisive victory. The three judges scored the fight 49-46, 49-46, 48-47 all for Miocic.
Cormier accidentally poked Miocic’s left eye in the second round. He was warned by the referee but no point was deducted. Miocic also accidentally poked Cormier’s left eye later in the fight. The referee did not even see the eye poke.
Miocic almost knocked Cormier out in the second round as he connected with two right hands to the jaw.
A groggy Cormier staggered backward against the cage and almost fell all over himself trying to avoid Miocic who mounted him and proceeded to administer ground and pound.
Cormier wrapped both arms around Miocic’s waist to escape a beat down and survived the fight when the bell sounded.
The victory concludes their storied three-fight rivalry with Miocic emerging as the greatest ever UFC Heavyweight champion in the eyes of most experts.
Cormier knocked out Miocic in the first round to win their first fight and grab the UFC heavyweight crown at UFC 226 held July 7, 2018. Miocic returned the favor with his own knockout in their second fight to recapture the title at UFC 241 held August 17, 2019.
Meanwhile, unheralded veteran Marlon Vera tallied his sixth consecutive victory at bantamweight by beating celebrated Sean O'Malley with ground and pound late in the first round.
In the middle of the first O’Malley tripped on his own right foot, hurting it badly which hobbled him the rest of the way. Late in the round Vera sent O’Malley falling backward into the canvas.
Vera then mounted O’Malley and administered ground and pound including a pile driver right elbow which render O’Malley senseless forcing the referee to stop the fight.
In a battle of hard-hitting heavyweights Jairzinho Rozenstruik stalked grizzled veteran Junior Dos Santos for nearly two rounds before putting him away late in the second.
Rozenstruik connected with straight left which he followed up it with a right hook which sent Dos Santos staggering back into the cage. Rozenstruik then swarmed him with ground and pound to win by TKO.
Dos Santos showed up with new look sporting a neatly trimmed mustache but it didn’t help against his gym mate.
The two heavyweights traded strikes at the center of Octagon in the first round. Dos Santos connected with two big rights which didn’t do much damage.