Daniel Cormier believes retirement after beating Stipe Miocic will make him a sports icon

Former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight world champion Daniel Cormier would not dare tangle with father time as a professional athlete as he plans to retire after his next fight.

Cormier is scheduled to meet UFC heavyweight world titleholder Stipe Miocic in a trilogy in the main event of UFC 252 on Sunday morning (Philippine time) at UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Should he succeed in winning back the title then retire afterward, Cormier is convinced that it would catapult him as an icon alongside other legends in sports.

“In MMA, yes, but I think it puts you right alongside the greatest sports athletes of all time. Michael Jordan won with the Bulls when they beat the Jazz. Unfortunately, he came back. I won’t come back,” said Cormier.

“Peyton Manning won a Super Bowl in his last season. It would put me in that type of sphere, with some of the greatest athletes that have ever competed across any sport. When I win on Saturday, I will retire that way.”

Cormier says that he has zero plans of tempting fate regardless of the result this weekend as he believes that fighting beyond an athlete’s prime is a proven recipe for disaster.

“That’s the problem with most athletes. When you do that, you feel like, I’m the best in the world,” he explained.

“Most of the guys in my position when they’re talking about being done, they’re down on the prelims somewhere. They’re there for some young guy to beat and elevate their name.”

For Cormier, what is more than important than being the best in the world is knowing the right time to call it quits.

“I’m fighting to be the best in the world. So on Saturday, when I win, I’m the best in the world,” he quipped.

“But you’ve got to be comfortable walking away as the best in the world, or eventually, you’re going to end up on the prelims for somebody to beat you and build off your name. It’s just the way the game works.” – JM Siasat/RC, GMA News