ANALYSIS
Miocic was officially diagnosed with a torn retina, and he told Helwani on Wednesday that he still sees spots on occasion. While a trilogy fight against Daniel Cormier has long been anticipated, his medical team has advised him to take his time with a comeback. Cormier turned 41 in March and has long been looming retirement, so it's fair to question if that matchup ever will happen. In the meantime, Miocic -- who works as a first responder -- plans to instead focus his efforts on a bigger fight, the one against the COVID-19 pandemic.

ANALYSIS
Miocic suffered an eye injury in August during his fight against Daniel Cormier in which he reclaimed the UFC Heavyweight Championship. The injury left him sidelined for the remainder of the calendar year, but he'll now be able to sign a contract when he feels ready. The 37-year-old has resumed training and has expressed an openness to take on whatever opponent the UFC puts him against.

ANALYSIS
Miocic regained his UFC Heavyweight Championship with the victory over Cormier at UFC 24, but he certainly didn't exit the octagon unscathed. Okamoto reports that the UFC had interest in booking a trilogy fight between the two for December, but Miocic remained resistant to it while recovering from the surgery required after he suffered the eye injury.

ANALYSIS
This was arguably the best performance of Miocic's career. Not because he fought well -- he probably lost the first three rounds -- but because he recognized an adjustment that needed to be made in order to win the fight and went out and executed it. Seemingly dead in the water following three brtual rounds, Stipe turned the tide by peppering DC's body. He threw a few shots, realized they were damaging the champ, and stuck with it. All the body shots eventually took their toll and allowed Miocic to finally do some damage with some shots to the head. Again, this was not a great effort from Stipe, but he did what was necessary to regain his belt when he could have thrown in the towel on numerous occasions. Miocic is going to need some time off after this back-and-forth war, but common sense would dictate that a rematch with Francis Ngannou would be next up for Stipe's first title defense. Miocic cruised to a unanimous decision in the first meeting between the two in January of 2018 on the strength of his wrestling, but Ngannou is back to knocking guys out like it's nobody's business, and it wouldn't be the least bit surprising to see Stipe as the underdog if that fight gets made. If it does indeed happen, Miocic better clean up his striking defense or else he is going to be another one-and-done champion.

ANALYSIS
Miocic had set the record for heavyweight title defenses in the UFC (3), but that streak was snapped when Cormier landed a first-round uppercut that put an end to the evening at UFC 226. Miocic has held firm in his assertions for a rematch, staying on the sidelines for nearly a year before finally getting his opportunity. Cormier, on the other hand, went on to defend his title in convincing fashion against Derrick Lewis at UFC 230 in November. A back injury has since slowed down DC, who initially did not want to fight past his 40th birthday. That birthday happened in March, but DC will extend his self-imposed deadline to take a much more challenging fight than an initially-proposed matchup against Brock Lesnar. Miocic will enter the cage the younger fighter with eight-inch reach and five-inch height advantages. That didn't stop Cormier from getting in side in their first matchup, but Stipe has had plenty of time to view the tape and correct any striking deficiencies. He'll likely have to get it done on the feet here, as Cormier is a much more accomplished wrestler than anyone else on Miocic's UFC resume.