Morning Report: Daniel Cormier claims Stipe Miocic has ‘never looked better’ ahead of Jon Jones title fight

Stipe Miocic isn’t messing around in his preparation for Jon Jones at UFC 295 in Madison Square Garden.

It’s been quite a while since the former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Miocic entered the octagon. Last competing in March 2021, Miocic was dethroned by the powerful Francis Ngannou, suffering a second-round knockout loss in what was a sequel to their January 2018 encounter.

Miocic, 41, went 2-1 in his trilogy against Daniel Cormier between Ngannou bouts and now looks to take out another all-time great in Jones next month. The full-time fireman recently shared that he’s packed on some mass and is walking around 245 pounds in training camp. Cormier has heard the same, speaking with Miocic directly as well as those within his team who are rather optimistic about what version of the Ohioan we’ll get in his return.

“I think the best Miocic is in the mid-240s and he’s saying now that he’s back around that weight,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “I spoke to someone in the Miocic camp and they told me he’s never looked better. He looks huge, he looks big, he looks strong. Now, is that gonna be enough? I don’t know. I’m just giving you this information. I’m pulling the curtain back so you guys can understand that expect the Stipe Miocic from the title run opposed to the guy we saw later. The small guy, the skinny guy.”

Miocic will once again occupy the underdog role when taking on Jones, sitting around +330 odds. It’s been a familiar spot throughout his title reigns but Miocic is no longer concerned by fan perceptions, he’s ready to play spoiler and his current attitude has given Cormier flashbacks to their second and third fights after he scored the massive first-round knockout in fight No. 1.

“Stipe Miocic isn’t a guy who lives a big life publically but he carries that chip when you start to doubt him,” Cormier said.

“I remember sitting at press conferences with Miocic and he would say these things like that. ‘Okay, doubt me,’ and he would almost smirk because he knew what most in the public didn’t know. The way he was training, the way he was preparing, and his intent in the fight. Obviously, he beat me two times back-to-back when he was saying those things and I would almost brush them off because you take his personality and you take him for granted. You forget he’s one of the most dangerous men on the planet. But again, he’s carrying that chip.”

Cormier is no stranger to the current heavyweight title holder Jones either as the duo had one of the most heated rivalries in MMA history. To win the title, Jones dispatched of Ciryl Gane with relative ease at UFC 285 this past March, submitting the Frenchman with a first-round guillotine just over two minutes in.

Despite Miocic’s time away, “DC” is expecting a much more competitive outing than what Gane gave Jones.

“How does my man Jones look in an actual fight?” Cormier asked. “Because he’ll get a fight this time. He’ll have to go rounds. If he doesn’t, boy, if this guy, if either of these guys wipes the other one out it would be jaw-dropping. I would be as shocked as I was when Sean Strickland beat Israel Adesanya.”

Review. NAC reviews Noche UFC fights, 10-8 criteria after judging controversy

Reflection. Israel Adesanya breaks silence about Sean Strickland loss: ‘Felt like a bad dream’

Bantamweight. Aljamain Sterling: Dana White was ‘definitely happy’ the ‘golden goose’ Sean O’Malley beat me

Legals. Dillon Danis no-shows Nina Agdal hearing, gets restraining order

Backup. Jared Cannonier explains how close he came to replacing Sean Strickland at UFC 293

Smart. Dana White vows to hold annual Noche UFC events ‘for the rest of my reign here’

Location. Valentina Shevchenko calls for Alexa Grasso trilogy to happen in Kyrgyzstan ‘to be fair’

Prediction. Junior dos Santos: Sergei Pavlovich will ‘dominate’ heavyweight if Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic retire at UFC 295

The MMA Hour.

Dan Ige’s greatest hits.

Full fight.

Korean Zombie recovers his gloves.

No Bets Barred. MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew and Conner Burks discuss if Rafael Fiziev can stop the relentless takedowns of Mateusz Gamrot at UFC Vegas 79.

Take your pick.

Bully support.

From the cage to the ring.

Clean.

GSP.

Education.

Nicksick.

MSG.

Moving on.

Rivals.

Probably.

He’s back.

Birthday.

MK Rob.

Noche.

Sisters.

Soon.

Spike’s lookalikes.

Jiri Prochazka (29-3-1) vs. Alex Pereira (8-2); UFC 295, Nov. 11

Bubba Jenkins (21-7) vs. Chris Wade (23-10); 2023 PFL Championship, Nov. 24

Khai Wu (7-4) vs. Phil Caracappa (9-3); 2023 PFL Championship, Nov. 24

Miesha Tate (19-9) vs. Julia Avila (9-2); UFC Fight Night, Dec. 2

Puna Soriano (9-3) vs. Dustin Stoltzfus (14-5); UFC Fight Night, Dec. 2

Alexandre Pantoja (26-5) vs. Brandon Royval (15-6); UFC 296, Dec. 16

Leon Edwards (21-3) vs. Colby Covington (17-3); UFC 296, Dec. 16

Weirdly, I think everything worked itself out regarding the light heavyweight title because Jiri Prochazka vs. Alex Pereira is just a ridiculous matchup. The other two are also fun in their own ways but they just don’t hit the same.

Thanks for reading!

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