Stipe Miocic defeated Daniel Cormier by unanimous decision in a five-round bout on Saturday night to win the rubber match in a fantastic trilogy between the fighters and retain his heavyweight championship.

Miocic (20-3) swept the scorecards 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47 to stake his claim as perhaps the greatest heavyweight in UFC history.

Miocic tagged Cormier with a vicious poke to his left eye late in the third round that sent the challenger staggering to his corner.

Cormier's eye was almost swollen shut, but he gamely fought on in the final two rounds in the main event of UFC 252 in Las Vegas. "I can't see anything out of my left eye," Cormier said. "It's black."

Cormier was taken to the hospital after the bout. The 41-year-old (22-3, 1 NC) is a former two-division champion and has already cemented his status as one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in UFC history.

The amiable Cormier, who has found his niche as a successful broadcaster, had vowed to retire after Saturday and end a career in which 10 of his last 11 fights were fought with a championship on the line.

Cormier said he stood by his decision to retire. He won the first fight between the two but dropped two straight to Miocic.

"I'm not interested in fighting for anything but titles and I don't imagine there's going to be a title in the future," Cormier said. "That will be it for me. I've had a long run, it's been great, I just fought my last fight for a heavyweight championship and it was a pretty good fight."

UFC president Dana White had said Francis Ngannou was next in line for a heavyweight title shot.

"Great performance to both guys....Congrats to Stipe on the performance. See you soon," Ngannou tweeted.

Jon Jones, the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion, attempted to stir the pot on social media by throwing his name into the pot for a fight with Miocic.

"Heavyweight world championships I will be seeing you real soon. Victorious," Jones tweeted.

Miocic nearly got the finish at the end of the second round and had Cormier in trouble until time ran out.

Cormier knocked out Miocic at UFC 226 in the first round in their 2018 bout to win the heavyweight belt. Miocic defeated Cormier last August in the rematch at UFC 241.

Associated Press