UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic might be the ‘baddest man on the planet’, but he’s not one for trash talk.
“It’s just too much. It’s exhausting for me,” Miocic said in a recent interview with Jagroop Shinbt of the BBC. “ I don’t need to go out of my way. I have other things to worry about, like training, or work, the wife, or fixing the house up. I’ve got other things to worry about other than hurting someone’s feelings.”
That’s why the part-time firefighter kept his words brief about upcoming opponent Daniel Cormier, who he will defend his title against in a heavyweight super-fight at UFC 226.
Cormier, the reigning UFC light heavyweight titleholder, is one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport and the winner of the 2012 Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix.
But Miocic, 35, plans to ‘beat up’ ‘DC’ at UFC 226 and send the American Kickboxing Academy standout back to his native light heavyweight division.
“I’m going to go out there and do my job. DC’s an amazing fighter, but unfortunately you’re going to see him get beat up,” Miocic said.
Miocic, who trains out of his hometown in Independence, Ohio, shut out knockout artist Francis Ngannou over the course of five rounds at UFC 220 and became the first heavyweight champion to defend his title a record-breaking three times, surpassing the likes of Cain Velasquez and Brock Lesnar.
Cormier, a former Olympic wrestler, also defended his LHW strap against Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 220, earning a TKO stoppage in the second round.
UFC 226 will feature Miocic vs. Cormier as the headlining championship bout and is expected to take place on July 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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