Stipe Miocic will rematch Francis Ngannou for title even if he LOSES at UFC 252 – as long as Daniel Cormier retires
STIPE MIOCIC could get an immediate crack at the heavyweight title even if he LOSES against Daniel Cormier at UFC 252.
The heavyweight champion, 37, faces Cormier, 41, in a trilogy decider in the pay-per-view headliner inside the UFC's empty Apex Center in Las Vegas.
But DC has warned - win or lose - he will retire after the fight.
And promoter Dana White admitted if the American is to walk away and vacate the title, Miocic deserves to challenge for the belt right away.
He told : "It would be hard to deny Stipe.
“We’re saying that this Saturday, the greatest heavyweight ever is the winner of this fight, so to say he’s not good enough for another title fight for the vacant title would be crazy.”
Heavy-hitter Francis Ngannou - who was beaten by Miocic in 2018 - has won his last four fights, all in round one, to put himself as the No1 contender.
Meaning Miocic is in line to rematch the 33-year-old if he retains the title.
White said: “Francis is next in line.
“Again, we’ll see what happens on Saturday and then yeah, Francis is the guy.”
Despite Cormier's plans to retire, White urged the former two-weight champion, as well as Miocic, to stick around.
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He said: “You know me - when people start talk about retiring, I think they should.
"Stipe, who people were saying is probably going to retire after this, too, but he squashed that tonight, I don’t think either one of them should retire.
"They’re two of the best in the world, and they still have a lot left in them. But we’ll see. We’ll see how the fight goes on Saturday.”