Rewind: 29 Days Ago, Daniel Cormier Put Stipe Miocic Over Big Time And Said He Wouldn’t Ever Fight Him

Daniel Cormier will fight Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title on July 7 at UFC 226, but less than one month ago Cormier was putting Miocic over as one of the greatest heavyweights of all time.

Speaking back at the UFC 220 pre-fight press conference in Las Vegas, Nevada on Dec. 29, Cormier was asked whether he’d ever consider stepping up to face either Miocic or Ngannou who fought in Boston last weekend.

“I’m excited because I get to fight and then go back and watch,” Cormier said. “I think, and I hope Francis doesn’t try to smack me, but I think the closest thing is when I fought Anthony Johnson and he was killing everybody.

“Everyone was saying he was going to blast right through me, but I was always like, ‘nah it’s fine, I’ll be OK.’ I think that’s what Stipe Miocic is feeling right now. So, you got a scary guy in Francis Ngannou, who hits as hard as we’ve ever seen, and we’ve got a guy on the cusp of becoming the greatest UFC heavyweight of all time. That’s what’s being missed in this. Stipe Miocic has won and defended his belt twice. If he wins again he’s the most successful UFC heavyweight we’ve ever seen, and don’t forget he’s knockout five guys in a row himself.

“Somebody is going to sleep and I’m just excited to be the building to watch it.”

Cormier wasn’t 100-percent accurate with his prediction, but he then went on to answer whether he’d ever think of stepping in the Octagon with either Miocic and Ngannou. Suffice to say, his answer now is rather comical given the announcement this weekend.

“Have you seem these guys? Have you seen these dudes? I sometimes, I read that stuff and I’m like I don’t even know what I was thinking back then.

“So no, I’m not going to fight Stipe Miocic and I’m definitely not going to fight Francis Ngannou.”

How times change. What a great fight on deck for July 7.