Stipe Miocic v Daniel Cormier Odds - UFC 252

UFC fans have been treated recently.

Dana White recently announced four stacked cards to take place on the highly anticipated 'Fight Island' in July, before quickly then dropping a heavyweight bomb.

Headlining UFC 252 on August 15th will be the trilogy fight between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier. It's a fight that fans have been demanding for, for months on end, and they have now got their wish.

Ahead of the PPV main event, we've taken a look into the Stipe v Cormer odds, plus what this bout means for the division.

There can be no downplaying the legacy that awaits either victor in August - they will be recognised as the greatest heavyweight of all time.

Both men share a piece of special history in the division - Stipe has defended the belt on more occasions than any other past champion, whilst Cormier became the first fighter to defend two belts in two separate weight classes, when he retained the Championship against Derrick Lewis.

So, how do we conclude the superior fighter? Well, we make them fight. It's currently one a piece going into the trilogy, meaning we will get a definitive answer in August.

Cormier upset the odds with his first round KO of the Croatian back in 2018, before the latter got his own revenge with a TKO stoppage last year. It will be 363 days since the two last met when they next step inside the Octagon, with both fighters holding out for this one and only fight.

Had Cormier defeated Stipe last August, he would rode have rode off into the sunset looking back on arguably the greatest UFC career of all time. Although this statement could still prove to happen, his retirement plans were prolonged.

The fighter has always reiterated his desire to hang up the gloves at the age of forty, and he has publicly stated that win, lose or draw, this will be his final dance in the Octagon. The now forty-one-year-old clearly feels that this is the last piece of unsettled beef he has in the organisation, and like the fans, he wants a definitive answer in settling the Cormier-Stipe debate.

From Miocic's perspective, there seemed to be growing doubts over whether he would even fight again. DC had been pushing for this trilogy earlier on in the year, but the Croatian had not recovered from a serious eye injury. Fans questioned whether the bout would ever materialise, resulting in a huge sigh of relief when Cormier sneakily posted an Instagram picture of his signature on a dotted line.

Given his past record, would Miocic have anything left to prove in the division should he reign victorious? A rematch against Francis Ngannou or a bout with Jon Jones would generate large volumes of interest, but no fan could question his decision, should this also be the 37-year-old's last ever fight.

How do you split two fighters with a 1-1 record? From the bookmaker's perspective, they can't.

SkyBet currently have both men at an outright price of 5/6 to win the bout. With no other markets currently available, there isn't much to analyse in this regard.

Such prices will be released in the coming weeks, but again, we don't expect anything to be in them. Via TKO/KO will likely favour Stipe, as he overcame adversity in the rematch and his body shots were too much for DC to handle. Cormier won the opening fight by KO, but the Croatian had endured some heavy blows in his five round matchup with Ngannou just six months prior. Was it just a case of his chin not being the same that night?

Submissions will no doubt favour the American, but the fight is likely to remain on the feet. Cormier will work the inside and work in the clinch, but pinning Stipe down is an unlikely route.

It's definitely a hard one to call, and we'll be back with updates when further odds are released.