4 takeaways from UFC 252

Stipe Miocic retained the heavyweight title via unanimous decision over Daniel Cormier in the UFC 252 main event Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

In the co-headliner, Marlon Vera stopped Sean O'Malley in the first round to hand "Sugar" his first career loss. Also on the card, Jairzinho Rozenstruik destroyed former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos with a second-round TKO.

Below are four takeaways from the event.

Miocic is the best

There's no other way to cut it. Love Miocic or hate him, but one thing is certain: He's the greatest UFC heavyweight of all time.

Ahead of UFC 252, the promotion said the Miocic-Cormier trilogy bout would determine the best ever in the division. Many believed that to be true, especially if Miocic kept his belt. Had Cormier won the fight, the conversation would be a bit murkier because his heavyweight resume is less impressive overall.

But with the victory over Cormier, Miocic set the new record for most heavyweight title defenses in UFC history (four). He was previously tied with Randy Couture, and he already held the record for most consecutive heavyweight title defenses with three, all of which occurred during his first reign from 2016-18.

Miocic has achieved a level of dominance at the top of the heavyweight division that no champion before him has attained. It's historically been a difficult task to keep the UFC heavyweight belt for very long. There's no hard evidence as to why, but it's probably because the division has the most potential for shocking results with every fighter boasting so much power. Miocic was on the wrong end of a loss in his fourth title defense - against Cormier - but he's since battled back with a pair of wins over "DC."

Miocic has beaten the likes of Fabricio Werdum, Dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, Cormier (twice), Francis Ngannou, and Andrei Arlovski. That's an incredible resume, and the UFC has never seen another heavyweight champion who can match it.

Cormier shouldn't fight again

Few retirements in MMA last forever, but Cormier's should.

Cormier said after the loss to Miocic that he's hanging up his gloves for good, and there's no need for the former two-division champion to change his mind down the road. He's accomplished more in the sport than most fighters ever will, and he has nothing left to do or prove.

If Cormier beat Miocic and recaptured the heavyweight title, a potential fight against longtime rival Jon Jones could have loomed. In fact, Cormier's coach, Javier Mendez, recently said he expected "DC" would fight Jones with a win at UFC 252. It's the only bout that would've made some sense for Cormier, and it's likely the only one he would've considered. It would have given Cormier a chance to get back at Jones - in a heavier weight class - several years after their two fights that created one of the greatest rivalries in UFC history.

But Cormier himself said it best: Another title fight is probably not in his future after his loss at UFC 252, so why come back? Dropping two straight fights is an undoubtedly unfortunate way for Cormier to end his career, but that's the harsh reality of most MMA retirements. Very few people go out on top. Cormier came close, but he ultimately fell short.

Don't give up on O'Malley

This was probably the best way O'Malley could drop a bout for the first time in his career.

The rising bantamweight prospect appeared to hurt his leg early in his fight against Vera, and it was obvious he was injured. O'Malley favored his other leg and stumbled around the Octagon. "Sugar" eventually crashed to the canvas, and Vera jumped on top of him en route to a first-round TKO.

It was a great win on paper for Vera, who probably didn't get enough respect heading into this co-main event. O'Malley is one of the most promising fighters in the UFC, and his name will be a good one for the native of Ecuador to have on his resume.

"Chito" deserves credit for taking care of business and putting O'Malley away, but one still has to wonder whether this was a fluke. That's not to suggest O'Malley would easily win a rematch or that he'd even be heavily favored. We simply don't know how a second bout would unfold. O'Malley looked good in the early moments, but it wasn't long before he was compromised.

It would be foolish to point to the result and say O'Malley shouldn't have been in this spot, or that Vera was too large a step up. This was the right measuring stick for O'Malley's budding career - there was no argument about that beforehand, and there shouldn't be now. There's no doubt O'Malley still has as much promise as he did before Saturday, and he'll bounce back once he recovers.

One shot changes it all

Rozenstruik seemed to be losing his fight against Dos Santos. And then he wasn't.

"Bigi Boy" knocked down the former champion with a brutal right hand, and it only took him a flurry of ground-and-pound to put Dos Santos away for good. The sequence followed a lack of activity from Rozenstruik in the first half of the fight. Dos Santos didn't have any huge moments himself, but he was doing better than the rising heavyweight contender.

Rozenstruik proved once again that it only takes one shot to change the path of a heavyweight fight. Consider his main-event bout against Overeem in December. Rozenstruik was outmatched on the feet and the ground and was moments away from his first UFC loss. Then he unloaded with seconds left in the five-round fight, and Overeem was done.

Moments like that are what make the heavyweight division such an exciting one, but Saturday's result gave cause for concern about Dos Santos. His last six losses are all knockouts, including three in a row. This is the first losing streak of the Brazilian's 29-fight career, and it's possible Dos Santos simply can't take a punch anymore - at least not against the hardest hitters in the division.

At the end of the day, Rozenstruik showed once again that he's one of the most powerful athletes in the UFC's heavyweight division, and he's back on track after losing to Ngannou earlier in 2020.