Tag: ufc 220

Stipe Miocic Asks Daniel Cormier For Rematch

Does Stipe Miocic deserve a rematch with Daniel Cormier?

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Stipe Miocic is still here, fight fans.

Despite becoming somewhat of an afterthought following the WWE-inspired scene involving Brock Lesnar that followed Daniel Cormier’s knockout of Miocic in the main event of last weekend’s UFC 226 from Las Vegas, the Cleveland-born firefighter remains arguably the most decorated heavyweight in UFC history.

After winning the title with a massive knockout of then-champion Fabricio Werdum in 2016, Miocic went on to defend the title with impressive performances against Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos, and Francis Ngannou to set the UFC heavyweight record for most consecutive title defenses. He was doing quite well against light heavyweight champion Cormier, too, until ‘DC’ floored him with a shotgun blast of a right hand to finish their superfight in the final minute of the opening round.

Miocic then became lost in the chaos of former champion Brock Lesnar’s appearance, who called Miocic a “piece of s***” despite not having a legitimate win since 2010 while his target was the most decorated UFC heavyweight champion in history. Unfortunately, that’s the UFC these days, and Lesnar will get to face Cormier because Miocic doesn’t move the needle like the WWE megastar. That won’t stop the former champ, who owned up to his loss with extreme class, from asking “DC” to run it back, which he did on social media today:

Cormier was quick to write back with his mutual respect, but after teasing an off-the-wall title fight with former UFC light heavyweight champion Shogun Rua earlier today, he didn’t agree to run it back with Miocic as one of the perceived final two fights of his career:

There’s no surprise that Miocic wants a rematch with the man who ended his record-setting title run, and based on his body of work, he’s legitimately one of the most deserving former champions in that regard. Many record-breaking champions like Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, and even Joanna Jedrzejczyk got immediate rematches when they lost their respective titles in shocking fashion, although long-reigning featherweight champion Jose Aldo missed out on one with Conor McGregor under similar circumstances.

But there have also been UFC champions who never defended their belt once who got an immediate rematch, such as Cody Garbrandt, who will meet TJ Dillashaw for the belt at August 4’s UFC 227 after “The Viper” knocked him out last year. The bout will come during a time when the UFC bantamweight division has arguably never been more talented.

So there’s no set rhyme or reason for the way in which the UFC hands out title shots, except for the obvious tendency of them going with the fight that earns the most dollars. Because of that, it looks like Cormier will meet Lesnar at some point when “The Beast” clears up his issues with USADA (if he can), and Miocic could be left out in the cold due to the fact he isn’t and simply never will be a trash talker who moves the needle in a mainstream sense.

Right or wrong, that’s the fight game, folks. Should Cormier grant Miocic a chance to win back his title before he retires?

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Daniel Cormier Wants Title Fight Against….Shogun Rua?

Wait, didn’t Daniel Cormier say he only wants huge fights before retiring?

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Daniel Cormier obtained the biggest accomplishment of his already-decorated MMA career by winning the UFC heavyweight title via first-round knockout over Stipe Miocic in the main event of last Saturday’s (July 7, 2018) UFC 226 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The win made Cormier the fifth two-division champion in UFC history – and only the second to hold two titles at the same time – but it also set “DC” up for a lucrative megafight with Brock Lesnar after the controversial WWE champion stepped into the cage to berate the UFC heavyweight division before shoving Cormier in a scene many fans are bemoaning as the dawn of a new, ridiculous, and entertainment-focused era for the UFC.

Cormier appeared ‘Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show’ to discuss his next move today, noting that he had just gotten finished getting a hand injury from his win over Miocic checked out. X-rays revealed a broken finger for the champ, but thankfully, the soon-to-retire Cormier said it wouldn’t require surgery (via ESPN’s Greg Rosenstein):

So with his recovery only requiring some rest, “DC” moved on to discuss whom his next fight would be against. Surprisingly enough, Cormier noted that it may not be against Lesnar – who still has more than one hurdle to climb in terms of his USADA eligibility – but that he may cut back down to 205 pounds to defend his light heavyweight championship for some reason.

And his choice of an opponent may surprise you somewhat, as he targeted 36-year-old former champion Shogun Rua, who meets Anthony Smith at July 22’s UFC Hamburg:

There’s little doubt that Shogun was one of the most exciting fighters in MMA during Pride’s heyday, and he translated that success into a UFC title win over Lyoto Machida in 2010.

But his UFC run has been characterized by extreme inconsistency, something that may not suggest a title shot against one of the sport’s pound-and-pound greats is in the cards. True, he has won three fights in a row to sit at No. 8 in the shallow light heavyweight ranks, and a win over Smith in Germany would give him a four-fight win streak, yet it would seem the winner of UFC 227’s Alexander Gustafsson vs. Volkan Oezdmir fight would be the rightful next light heavyweight challenger if “DC” does cut down again.

Cormier won’t really fight Shogun, will he? Perhaps he’s just trying to rile up former opponent Gustafsson, because a bout with Rua as one of the last two bouts of his career doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense right now.

What do you think?

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Daniel Cormier Slams Jon Jones Following UFC 226 Title Win

Daniel Cormier just isn’t all that worried about Jon Jones.

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Although he went into his main event versus Stipe Miocic at last night’s UFC 226 from Las Vegas as the UFC light heavyweight champion, there was always that shadow of former champion Jon Jones hanging over Daniel Cormier’s head.

That specter was lifted, however, when Cormier shocked the entire MMA universe by planting the much bigger Miocic with a picture-perfect short right hand that may have been so powerful the ground damage that followed was completely unneeded. With one punch, Cormier became the second-ever UFC champion to hold two titles in different weight classes at the same time, and he also put his name up there with the greatest fighters to ever compete in the sport.

In a circus-like scene that has drawn mixed reactions from fans and media members, former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar was called into the octagon by “DC” and proceeded to shove the new double champ to get the hype rolling for their perceived future fight. While UFC President Dana White confirmed that fight would be happening next, the opportunity to finally settle the score with “Bones,” a troubled all-time great who beat Cormier twice in the cage before drug issues shrouded both victories (his first win was never overturned despite him testing positive for cocaine prior to the bout), is a fight too huge to pass up.

But with “Bones” still facing a potentially long USADA suspension, Cormier rightfully doesn’t know when – or if – Jones will return, so he when faced with the obvious question at the UFC 226 post-fight press conference (via MMA Mania), “DC” said he would face “Bones” if he could fight

In his mind, he now has the two biggest titles in the UFC, so even if Jones beat him, he holds the cards:

”I mean … I would if he’s around, but I don’t know if he’s gonna be around. But honestly at this point, does he even deserve it? I hold the cards now. You may have won the fights but I hold the cards.”

Photo by Stephen R. Sylvanie for USA TODAY Sports

Cormier put it into more perspective, noting that he was the one who fought and knocked out the most successful heavyweight champion of all-time, another fighter who does things the right way like he does, unlike Jones’ constant legal and drug-related troubles. Bearing that, Cormier once again wasn’t sure he would face “Bones” again:

”I’m the one that competed. I’m the one that went up and did something that you were not going to do. I went and fought the baddest man on the planet, the most successful heavyweight champ of all time. A great guy. A great champion. A guy that does everything the right way. And I won. So … I don’t know. I don’t know if that’s going to happen.”

With two belts now in tow, Cormier offered the thought that the many haters who called him a fake champion when he won the 205-pound title thanks to two Jones incidents now had no right to claim that. In knocking out Miocic, Cormier is sure he became one of the greatest fighters in MMA history:

”This tonight, is for everyone that said ‘You’re a fake champion, you’re not a real champion. You can’t question this one. You might question that light heavyweight title. You can question it to the grave. But I have something completely separate from [Jones]. And I’m very grateful for it because everything was tied to that guy.”

”No matter how much I beat everybody up, it was like ‘Well, he lost to Jones.’ Now in this heavyweight division – a division I never got to complete my journey in – I went and I completed it and became the champ. I’m a champion and I’m one of the Greatest Of All Time. I love Demetrious Johnson and I love Georges St-Pierre, and it’s going to be one of the three of us.”

Finally, Cormier closed his thoughts on the matter by focusing on the fact he had done something only one other high-profile fighter had managed to achieve in the UFC:

”Only Conor McGregor did it at the same exact time. It’s a big deal and I’m very excited about it.”

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Dana White Confirms Daniel Cormier Will Fight Brock Lesnar

Dana White confirmed the UFC will book Daniel Cormier vs. Brock Lesnar:

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The proverbial shockwave Daniel Cormier sent through the MMA world by knocking out heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in the main event of tonight’s (Sat., July 7, 2018) UFC 226 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, is still resonating.

Becoming quite possibly the best champion in the history of the UFC and only the second-ever simultaneous two-division champion, Cormier cemented his legacy and went a long way toward coming out of the shadow of his prior two losses to decorated but troubled former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones (one that was changed to a no contest).

UFC President Dana White understandably had high praise for his new double champ at the post-fight presser, calling Cormier one of the best to ever do it and a great ambassador for the sport of mixed martial arts:

“One of the best of all-time. This was the right fight for him, in that, If you think about his career, he steps down from heavyweight to go to light heavyweight because his friend is a heavyweight. So he goes to 205, has an incredible career, but has that Jon Jones thing.

“And Jon Jones is, in my opinion, you know if not the, one of the best of all-time. Could be the. The potential that Jon Jones had, who knows what he could have done at heavyweight and everything else, so he’s got the shadow of Jon Jones. Moves back up to heavyweight and knocks out the best heavyweight ever in UFC history in the first round, decisively.

“I think that what this does is finally gives him the respect he deserves. And he’s a two-division champion and now he’s got a big fight ahead of him, big fight, big payday, and it couldn’t happen to a better guy, he’s an incredible ambassador for the sport.”

Immediately after he cleaned Miocic’s clock to win the belt, former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar stepped into the cage and shoved Cormier after “DC” called him out, setting the stage for a monstrous superfight down the road.

As if it needed to be stated, White confirmed the UFC would book that fight, explaining how jazzed Lesnar supposedly was during UFC 226:

“Yeah, we’re definitely gonna make that fight. So, Lesnar hit me up a couple days ago and says, ‘Sorry I went dark on ya, I had some stuff I had to take care of and I’m gonna come to the fight this weekend.’

Okay, see you Saturday. He came here tonight and he was all fired up if you couldn’t tell, I mean, right when he got to my seat on the side he was acting like a lunatic. He was fired up and excited for this fight. His gut told him Stipe because he thought Cormier put too much weight on for this fight. He thought it was going to affect him. And, it didn’t”

So “DC” will move on quite possibly the biggest fight of his career – and he’s had some big ones – yet the specter of a trilogy match with Jones will probably still hang over the ultra-competitive Cormier’s head until he retires, which he’s teased doing soon.

Don’t be surprised to see that fight happen at heavyweight after “DC” faces Lesnar and if and when Jones is able to return from his potential USADA suspension.

All of the sudden, Cormier has the MMA world in his palm. But is Jones still the all-time king despite his outside-the-cage trouble?

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UFC 226 Post-Fight Press Conference

Watch the UFC 226 post-fight press conference streaming live here:

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Tonight’s (Sat., July 7, 2018) UFC 226 is in the rearview mirror from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and we have a new heavyweight champion.

In the main event, light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier knocked out previously record-setting heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in the first round to become the second simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history. After the bout, former champion Brock Lesnar appeared and shoved Cormier, setting up a massive future match-up between the two champions.

In the co-main, a heavyweight ‘fight’ of horrifically bad proportions went down between Derrick Lewis and Francis Ngannou in a bout that was hyped as one of the most explosive potential match-ups for some time. The rest of the card featured some amazing fights and finishes such as Anthony Pettis’ thrilling submission win over Michael Chiesa and Khalil Rountree Jr.’s KO of kickboxer Gokhan Saki.

There’s a ton to unpack and discuss after arguably the most anticipated UFC of the year, so join us for the card’s post-fight press conference live after the main card right here:

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Brock Lesnar Shoves Daniel Cormier After ‘DC’ Wins Heavyweight Title

Brock Lesnar stepped into the octagon and shoved Daniel Cormier after “DC’s” historic UFC 226 win:

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History was made when light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier knocked out former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in the main event of (Sat., July 7, 2018) UFC 226 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

When he did, Cormier became the second simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history, making a very strong case for being the greatest fighter in MMA history by finishing the man many considered the greatest heavyweight in the history of the sport.

But there was another prize on top of the heavyweight belt, and that was a potential fight with former champion Brock Lesnar after the WWE champion showed up cageside before the main event superfight.

Cormier called him out at the tail end of his post-fight interveiw, ,Lesnar stepped into the cage and it was on, with the hulking pro wrestler shoving the new two-division champ in a scene jam=packed of all-out chaos.

Watch it right here:

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