Stipe Miocic outslugs Daniel Cormier in trilogy to retain UFC heavyweight title at UFC 252

Stipe Miocic has sent Daniel Cormier to retirement from a loss following his successful defense of the UFC heavyweight world title in the main event of UFC 252 this Sunday at UFC APEX in Las Vegas.

Miocic opened the contest with leg kicks and jabs that found its mark. Cormier went for a takedown but was unable to deal significant damage. Once up, Miocic started to invest in the body that proved effective in the second fight. A right cross from Cormier stunned Miocic before the round ended.

They exchanged punches and kicks in round two. Cormier was keen on closing the distance where he was able to land clean hard shots at Miocic. A hard right hand to the jaw dropped Cormier at the end of round two but he was saved by the bell.

Cormier was still hurt when he came out of his corner for round three where Miocic landed big shots and stung the challenger with an unintentional eye poke.

Both fighters went back to trading shots in the middle of the cage in round 4. With his left eye shut due to the eye poke, Cormier was unable to defend against Miocic's patented right hand. Cormier turned it up in round 5 knowing that the fight could go either way while Miocic threw combinations.

All three judges saw the fight in favor of Miocic after five competitive rounds. The scorecards were 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47.

Now touted as the greatest heavyweight in UFC history, Miocic improved his professional mixed martial arts record to 20-3 while Cormier headed to retirement with a record of 22-3. — LA, GMA News