Cormier insists he won't put retirement plans on hold for Jones

Nothing will stop Daniel Cormier from retiring after his UFC 252 trilogy bout against heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic on Saturday.

There's been skepticism surrounding Cormier's plan to hang up his gloves win or lose against Miocic - including from his coach - as "DC" originally intended to retire in early 2019. But, the former two-division titleholder insists this is it, even with longtime rival and current light heavyweight champ Jon Jones looming.

"Everybody keeps asking, 'Well, Uncle Dana's gonna pull up to your house with a Brinks truck to fight Jon Jones again,' and all this other stuff," Cormier told ESPN's "First Take" on Thursday. "But I always tell people, you're the best in the world until you're not. At some point, it's going to be difficult to compete with these guys."

The 41-year-old will go down as one of the greatest fighters of all time regardless of what happens at UFC 252. He was the 205-pound champion for three years before moving up to heavyweight in 2018 and became the second fighter in UFC history to hold two belts simultaneously. Cormier ultimately wants to walk away from the sport on top, and he will get that opportunity this weekend.

"I'm comfortable. I got a lot of things outside of fighting that are going to take a huge part of my life as I retire," Cormier said. "And I'm happy. I'm happy with all that I've done ... and I'm ready for the next chapter of my life. So, I'm looking at Stipe Miocic as the last time I walk into the Octagon, and I'm happy about it. I want what Georges St-Pierre got - to walk away as the champion. Most people don't get that."