Daniel Cormier has had plenty of rivalries in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career. And unsurprisingly, he believes his rivalry with Jon Jones will be the one most remembered.
Cormier and Jones fought twice for the light heavyweight title in highly-anticipated contests that drew plenty of attention. It wasn’t just memorable because of their skill levels being higher than the rest of the division, but also their bitter feud which was not one bit manufactured. To this day, the pair don’t see eye-to-eye.
However, “DC” does believe his other rivalries with Stipe Miocic and Anthony Johnson will be remembered as well, albeit for other reasons.
“The reality is, for everything else that Jon and I were, I think that’s going to be the one that stands the test of time because it was so bitter,” Cormier told MMA Junkie. “But on the competitive side, I think Miocic will be that guy that, when we walk away from this game, you go, ‘Wow, DC had two really big series of fights,’ and I think three, honestly, because Anthony Johnson falls in line with that, too.
“I’m just one of those guys who was lucky enough to fight big fights, fight big fights often, and have guys that were good enough to, win or lose, get right back to those big, big fights. The great thing about those rivalries – between the three guys, seven fights – is that every one of them was for a UFC championship. That, to me, is a bigger deal than even having those rivalries.”
Cormier is currently 1-1 with Miocic after losing his heavyweight title to the latter at UFC 241 last August. The duo are expected to have their trilogy fight later this year — a contest that will be Cormier’s last in MMA.
What do you think Cormier’s most memorable rivalry is?