Daniel Cormier says he will not need eye surgery
Daniel Cormier will not undergo eye surgery for his torn cornea he suffered in a unanimous-decision loss to current heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 252 on Aug. 15.
Cormier was accidentally poked in his left eye by Miocic in the third round of the five-round heavyweight affair. The bout was part of the heavyweight trilogy, which was also Cormier’s retirement fight.
While co-hosting ESPN’s DC & Helwani on Monday, Aug. 31, Cormier told Helwani he will undergo surgery on his left eye.
“The first week and a half, [the eye] was really bad, it wasn’t opening, and it was completely blurry, but now it kind of feels like an eyelash is in it,” Cormier said. “I went and saw the doctor last week, and he told me I’m probably not going to have to have surgery, just kind of rest and recover. And today it feels good, but just feels like something in there, you know when you get an eyelash and can’t get it out? It’s just right in the corner.
“It was concerning initially, because they didn’t know how severe the impact was going to be going forward. They didn’t know if I was going to have to have surgery and do all these other things. Luckily I was able to recover, and I feel better, and I prefer not to have surgery.”
Miocic spent almost a year outside of the cage. He underwent an eye surgery after an accidental eye poke suffered in the rematch in August 2019. Micioc won by fourth-round TKO.
Another eye poke came into play in the first round of the trilogy, where Cormier accidentally poked Miocic in the eye during the first round of the trilogy coincidentally. Cormier is not blaming his eye injury for his recent loss.
“Things happen. He made a mistake,” Cormier said. “I don’t think he tried to do it on purpose. It is what it is. We’re fighting with four-ounce gloves that don’t have finger covers. I harbor no bad feelings.
“In the first round I was almost sad, like God dang it, this again. You don’t want that stigma of being a dirty fighter, that’s one thing I’m not. I’m not poking this guy in his eyes on purpose. Unfortunately it’s the gloves that we fight with.”
