Presented by UFC 241 on ESPN+
UFC heavyweight champion Daniel “DC” Cormier doesn’t care about feelings. He just wants to get in the Octagon and fight.
Working out for fans and media ahead of the UFC 241 PPV main card on ESPN+, which goes down this Saturday, August 17, live at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Cormier took an opportunity to display his otherworldly MMA skills and sell what very well could be the final fight of his storied career.
Hitting mitts with boxing coach Rosendo Sanchez, then grappling, and wrestling, Cormier then grabbed the mic and slammed his upcoming opponent, Stipe Miocic, before their Pay Per View main event on ESPN+.
Using some coarse language — the very type of words your teacher would’ve sent you to the vice principals office for using — Cormier poked and prodded at Miocic’s ego and inability to field questions about their previous fight, in which “DC” knocked out the former UFC heavyweight champion to claim the title.
Cormier then offered his own take on the upcoming UFC 241 main event, explaining his clear advantages over Miocic.
“I love the rematch,” commented Cormier. “I’ve been there. I had to start fighting to realize nothing’s really changed. The difference was, I wasn’t fighting the same guy. He’s gonna be in there with the same guy that beat him the last time, so we’ll see what type of mental effect that has on him.”
While Cormier gave the longest workout of the afternoon, Miocic, in contrast, Miocic stuck to some boxing sequences.
The difference in the workouts may have literal implications on the UFC 241 PPV main event on ESPN+, as each fighter demonstrated their natural tendencies, many of which will play out in the headlining bout.
Anthony “Showtime” Pettis also offered a dose of his Taekwondo heavy MMA game, delivering a bevvy of spinning kicks and leaping punches.
Pettis, who has just two pounds to cut before weighing in on Friday morning looked exceptional during his workout. He’s confident that the move to welterweight will pay major dividends come Saturday, and is expecting a bloody battle in his UFC 241 co-main event versus Nate Diaz.
“He bleeds. He comes straight forward. I bleed. I come straight forward. That’s all that matters,” stated Pettis. “It’s a true fight now. We’re not trying to do a weight competition at ‘55 .. I just found my body at 170. I feel the punching power I have … when I was cutting down to ’55, I didn’t have that same power. My hand kept breaking because I was fragile.”
While Pettis and Diaz have different fighting styles and polar opposite personalities, they did end up agreeing on one thing ahead of Saturday’s UFC 241 main card: there is no actual beef or animosity between the two veterans.
“That was blown a bit out of proportion,” offered Diaz in reference to his supposed jealousy that Pettis was the first UFC fighter featured on a Wheaties box back in 2014. “I was mad … I did more work than these guys and then they’re pushing them as the guys. And, if you’re a fighter, and they’re pushing this guy and this guy, I’m gonna definitely say nah to that, I’m the guy. So that’s all that was and he should probably understand that because that’s all anyone in this fight game should be doing.”
With all four main and co-main event fighters nearing their final preparation for Saturday’s UFC 241 pay per view main card, the event on ESPN+ is shaping up to be the best MMA card of 2019.
UFC 241 Pay Per View Main Card on ESPN+ (7 p.m. PST / 10 p.m. EST)*
- Daniel Cormier vs. Stipe Miocic (Main Event)
- Anthony Pettis vs. Nate Diaz (Co-Main Event)
- Yoel Romero vs. Paulo Costa
- Gabriel Benitez vs. Sodiq Yusuff
- Derek Brunson vs. Ian Heinisch
UFC 241 Prelims*
- Raphael Assuncao vs. Cory Sandhagen
- Drakkar Klose vs. Christos Giagos
- Manny Bermudez vs. Casey Kenney
- Devonte Smith vs. John Makdessi
- Kyung Ho Kang vs. Brandon Davis
- Sabina Mazo vs. Shana Dobson
- Hannah Cifers vs. Jodie Esquibel
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