Cormier open to Ngannou title bout if Miocic won't fight

It appears that a trilogy bout with heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic is no longer Daniel Cormier's only option.

Cormier, a former UFC two-division champion, said Saturday that he'd be willing to fight Francis Ngannou for the vacant title if Miocic is stripped of the belt for not defending it.

"If Stipe won't fight, then Francis Ngannou has earned a title fight," Cormier said during the UFC 249 postfight show, according to MMA Fighting's Damon Martin. "If somebody's fighting Francis Ngannou for the title, it's going to be me."

Miocic has been out of action since last summer due to an eye injury. The trilogy bout with Cormier was reportedly in the works for August until the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the promotion's schedule. Now, Miocic's gym in Ohio is closed, and he refuses to compete during the crisis because he can't have a proper training camp.

UFC president Dana White has grown impatient with Miocic and wants the division to move on. The promotion has discussed possibly booking an interim title fight or even stripping Miocic, according to ESPN's Ariel Helwani.

Miocic and Cormier are 1-1 in their series. Cormier won the first fight in 2018, knocking Miocic out in the first round to capture the heavyweight title. In the 2019 rematch, Miocic finished "DC" in the fourth round to become a two-time champ.

Cormier plans to retire after his next fight. The 41-year-old said the Miocic trilogy bout is still his preferred swan song over a meeting with Ngannou, who beat Jairzinho Rozenstruik via 20-second knockout at UFC 249.

"I would love to do my trilogy fight with Stipe Miocic," he said. "But if Stipe won't fight, they're going to take his belt ... and they're going to make a fight between Francis and I for the belt.

"It’s simple as that. You’ve got to fight as the champ."