At UFC on FOX 7, Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champ Daniel Cormier made a definitive statement in his promotional debut with a one-sided thrashing of Frank Mir. Cormier was able to implement his game plan and simply overpower the bigger fighter en route to a victory that put his professional record at a perfect 12-0.
Cormier and Mir were set to meet under the Strikeforce banner back in November; however, Mir was forced off the card due to an injury. In the five month interim, the war of words escalated between the two fighters, but it was Cormier who backed up the talk with amazing clinch work and brutal shots against the cage.
The dominating 30-27 unanimous-decision win over Mir, a former two-time heavyweight titleholder, solidifies Cormier as a force in the division and puts him on the fast track to get a crack at the strap.
Without question, Cormier will continue to be paired against high-caliber competition, though it remains unclear whether he will stay at heavyweight or drop down to light heavyweight.
If Cormier does stay at heavyweight a matchup with Alistair Overeem seems like a good possibility. Yes, Overeem is coming off of a surprise KO loss to Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at UFC 156 and is currently nursing a torn quad muscle, but it only seems fitting that he and Cormier square off in the Octagon.
It’s a classic striker versus wrestler matchup. Overeem would be hunting for the knockout while Cormier would try to use his Olympic-level wrestling to neutralize the Dutchman’s superior striking.
A win against “The Demolition Man” would put Cormier up for a title shot, but his adamant refusal to fight AKA teammate and current heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez only muddies the divisional waters.
Given this conflict, Cormier may drop to light heavyweight where a fight with kingpin Jon Jones could be in the cards. That’s if Jones can get past Chael Sonnen at UFC 159 on April 27.
Cormier has expressed a desire to fight Jones on multiple occasions and considering how few contenders remain at light heavyweight, he may just get his wish.
The most interesting aspect of this fight would be to see if Cormier could get Jones to the ground and hold him there. No one has ever seen Jones fight off of his back and if Cormier can do that then he may just be able to wrest the belt from the young champ.
Now that may be looking a little too far ahead into the future, but it is clear that Daniel Cormier stands to have a promising UFC career regardless of which division he competes in.
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