Daniel Cormier says he's got ONE fight left in his MMA career -- and it ain't against Jon Jones -- he wants a rematch with Stipe Miocic.
"Next one will be the last one," Cormier said to Ariel Helwani ... "It has to be Stipe. No one else matters."
Of course, 40-year-old Cormier said he was pondering retirement after he lost to Miocic at UFC 241 in August ... explaining that he needed to talk things over with his family.
But now, DC says it's crystal clear ... he wants the trilogy fight with Stipe to try and win back the UFC heavyweight title -- and no matter what happens next, it's over after that.
"I love to compete and I don't want to finish like this."
Cormier says there's no fight date set in stone yet -- but he was open to Dec. 14 at UFC 245.
Cormier says he's not sure if Stipe has accepted the fight ... but he's laying all of his cards out on the table -- saying he will NOT fight anyone else, including Jon Jones.
As for Stipe, Cormier says he thinks Miocic might be dealing with some issues of his own ... but he wants to fight sooner rather than later.
We're already out to Stipe for his response. Stay tuned ...