Daniel Cormier calls Stipe Miocic a ‘brat’ for sitting out so long

At UFC 241, reigning UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will defend his title against the former champ Stipe Miocic. The bout will be a rematch of a July 2018 fight, which Cormier won by first-round knockout.

Since that first fight, Cormier has fought once, defeating Derrick Lewis by submission in a successful title defense. Miocic, meanwhile, has not fought since. Instead, he’s been adamant that his accomplishments as the former champion warrant an immediate rematch with Cormier.

Cormier, it seems, is a little unimpressed with the way Miocic handled the situation.

“Him sitting out this whole time, just kind of being a little bit of . . . I feel like he acted a little bit like a brat,” Cormier told ESPN (transcript via MMA Fighting). “Like, ‘I should get a rematch!’ I just thought he should have fought again. It kind of rubbed me the wrong way but you know what, it worked and now he gets a chance to fight for the title again. So yeah, there are things that we both dislike about each other but at the end of the day I’m not losing any sleep over Stipe Miocic not liking me.”

While Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic have generally been quite cordial to one another, Cormier does believe he’s gotten under his foe’s skin.

“I think I annoy Stipe Miocic,” Cormier said. “I think I annoyed Stipe Miocic after The Ultimate Fighter the first time. I think he’s a respectful guy so shakes my hand and says the right things but I think at his core he’s like, ‘I can’t stand this dude.’ We’re just too different…

“I do get on his nerves but whatever. I don’t care. Everybody doesn’t have to like you. What’s it matter because the reality is we have to fight. Once we’re done fighting, we don’t have to be friends. He’s got a great family, got a life and he can go live his and I can go live mine. I respect all that he does for his community and everything but there are some things that he does that annoy me too.”

Who do you think will win this anticipated rematch between Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 8/13/2019.