Tag: Stipe Miocic

Daniel Cormier Reacts To His Ever-Changing Fan Perception

Daniel Cormier has been on both sides of the fence. H’s been the good guy and the bad guy. The babyface and the heel. When fight fans had their first introduction to the light heavyweight champion, he was the plucky, undersized alternate who won the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. Fans loved him for his thrilling […]

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Daniel Cormier has been on both sides of the fence.

H’s been the good guy and the bad guy. The babyface and the heel.

When fight fans had their first introduction to the light heavyweight champion, he was the plucky, undersized alternate who won the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix.

Fans loved him for his thrilling first-round knockout of Antônio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva. Then something changed around the time of the first Jon Jones fight, where fight fans decidedly wanted ‘Bones’ to win. That continued on into his long rivalry with Jones that was extended by Jones’ many outside-the-cage issues and suspensions for performance-enhancing drugs.

Cormier recently spoke on the rollercoaster he’s been on with MMA fans throughout the years (MMA Fighting):

“When I went out there that first time and they booed me with Jon [Jones], I just played the bad guy. I will say all the stuff you hate me saying. You hate that I make fun of [Jon Jones] for his addictions? I will say every one of those addictions and I’ll list them all out. Before it was like, I don’t think they’ll boo me for it. Okay, you’ll boo me for it? You don’t like that? I’d kind of feel out what people liked and didn’t like. And the things I got the most hate, on Twitter, I would start to say it in public. If you want me to be your bad guy, I’ll be your bad guy. I just kind of gauge it.”

But although he was the ‘bad guy’ prior to his UFC 214 knockout defeat at the hands of “Bones,” Cormier shomehow found himself in the fans good graces once again at January’s UFC 220, when they cheered his name as he finished surging competitor Volkan Oezdemir.

“People just decide what they want to do. Going into the Jones fight, it was all boos. And then going into Boston, it was all cheers. Then when I went to that press conference in Brooklyn, cheers. They put me on the camera and for the first time, people yelled positive stuff. Usually they just boo me. I didn’t care. I just get used to it.”

Cormier recently finished filming his season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) against fellow UFC champion Stipe Miocic, and the two will face off in a champion vs. champion superfight in the main event of UFC 226 on July 7.

Will fans be rooting for him there?

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Early Betting Odds For Possible Anthony Joshua vs. Stipe Miocic Fight

The early betting odds for a potential fight between UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua have been released.  Joshua (20-0, 20 KOs) is slated to compete in a major unification bout with New Zealand’s Joseph Parker (24-0, 18 KOs) on March 31st in Cardiff, Wales. This marks the third consecutive […]

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The early betting odds for a potential fight between UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua have been released. 

Joshua (20-0, 20 KOs) is slated to compete in a major unification bout with New Zealand’s Joseph Parker (24-0, 18 KOs) on March 31st in Cardiff, Wales.

This marks the third consecutive stadium show for England’s Joshua, who is one of the highest-paid, biggest stars in the sport today.

UFC President Dana White has made it well known in the past that he is a big fan of the heavyweight champ and would like to promote him as part of his planned venture into boxing.

It’s been reported that White will attend the upcoming fight and will attempt to lure Joshua away from promoter Eddie Hearn with a ridiculously lucrative multi-fight offer.

It’s been well documented that UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will fight Miocic at UFC 226. They will also coach the next season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).

Even though UFC is unlikely to ink Joshua only to have him compete inside of the Octagon, oddsmakers still put out the odds for this potential MMA fight.

According to online gambling outlet Odds Checker, Miocic would be considered a -5000 (1-50) favorite if the promotion was able to book this fight. Joshua currently comes in as a +1000 (10-1) underdog.

The sport of boxing and MMA is an interesting place right now. It seems that MMA fighters want to be boxer and boxers want to be MMA fighters.

Time will whether the UFC is able to sign Joshua to a deal and if this fight between the two heavyweight champions is made.

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Stipe Miocic & Junior Dos Santos React To Anthony Joshua Rumors

Yesterday (March 21, 2018), a report from the Telegraph’s Gareth A. Davies surfaced indicating that the UFC was interested in signing heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua to a highly lucrative contract. Given that UFC President Dana White has continuously expressed his interest in promoting boxing, it’s unclear whether or not a deal with Joshua would […]

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Yesterday (March 21, 2018), a report from the Telegraph’s Gareth A. Davies surfaced indicating that the UFC was interested in signing heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua to a highly lucrative contract.

Given that UFC President Dana White has continuously expressed his interest in promoting boxing, it’s unclear whether or not a deal with Joshua would pertain specifically to boxing or involve the Brit trying his hand at mixed martial arts as well.

Regardless, reigning UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and ex-titleholder Junior Dos Santos both commented on the rumors:

Miocic, who’s coming off of a successful title defense over Francis Ngannou earlier this year, has often called out Joshua multiple times for a potential clash.

Dos Santos, meanwhile, is currently sorting out issues with USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) regarding a potential anti-doping violation, but he too has expressed interest in boxing in the past.

As for Joshua, the 28-year-old is currently scheduled to put his IBF, IBO and WBA titles on the line against Joseph Parker on March 31.

Stay tuned to LowKickMMA as more news on the situation unfolds.

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MMA’s Best Upcoming Fights in 2018

They say 2018 is shaping up as a down year in MMA. Maybe the so-called experts haven’t seen this calendar of fights. Sure, the crowded upcoming schedule contains a lot of forgettable action…

They say 2018 is shaping up as a down year in MMA. Maybe the so-called experts haven’t seen this calendar of fights. Sure, the crowded upcoming schedule contains a lot of forgettable action…

Heavyweight Contender Has Intriguing Prediction For Cormier vs. Miocic

Another UFC star has given his take on Daniel Cormier vs. Stipe Miocic. That contender is Curtis Blaydes. He sounded off on the next super fight under the UFC banner. This fight will see UFC light heavyweight champion move back to heavyweight to take on the division champion at UFC 226. Blaydes is coming off […]

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Another UFC star has given his take on Daniel Cormier vs. Stipe Miocic.

That contender is Curtis Blaydes. He sounded off on the next super fight under the UFC banner.

This fight will see UFC light heavyweight champion move back to heavyweight to take on the division champion at UFC 226.

Blaydes is coming off one of the biggest wins of his career over Mark Hunt at UFC 221. He recently conducted an interview with Submission Radio.

During the interview, he not only gave his prediction for this upcoming showdown but also explained why he thinks the heavyweight champion will get it done come July.

“It is a tough one,” Blaydes said (transcript courtesy of Bloody Elbow). “This is another great match-up. Daniel Cormier, who is I think undefeated as a heavyweight, to put him against, as you said, possibly the greatest heavyweight champion we’ve had, I think it’s a great match-up.

I’m going with Stipe. I think it’s going to be a banger. I think it’s going to be five rounds, just like Jon Jones’ last (fight), not his last one against DC but their first fight against each other. I think it’s gonna go like that. They’re both gonna get rocked, they’re both gonna get taken down, they’re both gonna get cut and have bruises and what not, but I think Stipe’s length and his boxing (will be too much). “

Blaydes revealed in this interview his experiences training with Miocic. He also gave insights on both the wrestling and striking battles they had while sparring against each other.

“I actually trained with him a couple of years ago, I wrestled with him,” Bl And I’m not gonna toot my own horn, but I think I’m one of the better wrestlers overall regardless of the weight class in the UFC right now, and his wrestling is legit. He is very good.

“On the feet he destroyed me. I was an amateur, this is back in 2013. I’m one of those guys, I’m not gonna lie to you when someone is better. Like, he was leaps and bounds better than me. He was supposed to be, like, at the time he was going up against Gabriel Gonzaga. So yeah, it would have been weird if they brought me in there and I just started picking him apart. That probably would have been a problem for Stipe.

No, he handled me like he was supposed to. But when we wrestled, like I said, pretty back and forth. He would go, (in) I guess an hour practice, he would get two takedowns, I would get two takedowns, or maybe he would get one more, maybe I would get one more.”

UFC 226 is set to take place on Saturday, July 6, 2018, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The main card will air on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card will air on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass.

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