UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic says he’s been working to adjust to a smaller cage at UFC 252.
Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier III is set to take place on Aug. 15. The heavyweight title bout will headline UFC 252 inside the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. Cormier has said that win or lose, he will retire after this fight.
Stipe Miocic Discusses Smaller Cage Going Into Trilogy Bout With Daniel Cormier
Much has been made about the Octagon dimensions going into UFC 252. The standard size of the Octagon is 30 feet, but it’s 25 feet inside the APEX facility. Miocic told ESPN that he isn’t too concerned about the smaller cage favoring Cormier due to his wrestling.
“A bigger cage is better of course,” Miocic told ESPN. “It is what it is. I’m not going to cry about it. I definitely tried to get a bigger cage, but it wasn’t in the cards. What are you gonna do? I’m not worried. My [gym’s] cage is the same size, and I’ve been working on everything.
“There are a lot more angles and stuff, and getting pushed against the cage, you don’t have that extra five feet,” Miocic said. “We’ve definitely been training wrestling more. He said to bring my wrestling shoes. He’ll definitely try to wrestle me, but every fight starts standing, don’t forget that.
“We’ll see. Take me down then. We’re wrestling? I thought we were fighting.”
Miocic and Cormier are 1-1 against one another. Cormier struck first with a first-round knockout victory over Miocic to capture the heavyweight gold back in July 2018. Miocic regained the championship with a fourth-round TKO win over Cormier in their Aug. 2019 rematch.
