It’s time to give Cormier his due
UFC CHAMPION: Stop faulting light heavyweight because rival keeps getting suspended
After Daniel Cormier’s second-round stoppage win over Volkan Oezdemir last weekend at UFC 220 in Boston, a familiar conversation was started anew as fans and media began debating the merits of Cormier’s place atop the UFC light heavyweight division.
For nearly three years, the former Olympian has sat atop the 205-pound weight division, but his ascent to the top of the light heavyweight ranks and return to that position have come as a result of the persistent missteps of his chief rival, Jon Jones.
On two occasions, Cormier has benefited from “Bones” being suspended and stripped of his title — first in Spring 2015 when he defeated Anthony Johnson to claim the vacant light heavyweight title and again last summer when his thirdround knockout loss to Jones was overturned after the talented former titleholder tested positive for a banned substance.
Though he’s 0-2 against Jones inside the Octagon, Cormier is in the midst of his second reign atop the light heavyweight division and it’s a situation that creates a great deal of debate and disagreement between fight fans.
Personally, I don’t get it; I never have and I never will.
I don’t understand why his history with Jones always has to be taken into account when determining Cormier’s place atop the division and in the pantheon of alltime greats.
No one came away from last weekend’s event trying to erase the fact Cormier has come up short in his two head-to-head meetings with the oft-suspended superstar or suggest “DC” is the superior fighter, both now and overall.
Additionally, no one was even really suggesting Cormier is the best light heavyweight in the sport, a title that still belongs to Jones and will until he decides to stop competing — by choice, not as a result of a suspension.
What I would say is Cormier is the best active light heavyweight in the UFC and that should carry a lot more weight in the here and now than his history against Jones.
Look, there is no question Jones is the superior fighter between the two and would be lording over this division if he were eligible to compete. But over the last three years, the 30-year-old has been forced to serve multiple suspensions, limiting him to just two appearances.
Given that he’s unable to compete and staring down the barrel of another suspension, I’m done putting the light heavyweight division through a Jon Jones filter and lamenting how things would be different if he were around.
Instead, I want to appreciate the athletes who are stepping into the cage and taking on the best competition possible on a regular basis. Over the last three years at light heavyweight, that has been Cormier.
If you want to make the “yeah, but Jon Jones” argument every time someone says something positive about the charismatic and genuine 39-year-old, who has gone undefeated in 20 bouts against opponents other than Jones, fine, that’s your choice. But if the only knock against him is that he’s lost twice to arguably the greatest fighter of alltime, that doesn’t really seem like that big of a demerit when discussing Cormier’s legacy.
While Jones has been sidelined, Cormier has gone out and defeated the best the division has to offer — and he has done it in dominant fashion for the most part. He’s become one of the most compelling figures in an organization in dire need of compelling figures and handled everything that has been thrown at him these last several years with aplomb.
And rather than talk about what he hasn’t been able to do and tethering everything to Jones, I would much rather celebrate what Cormier has accomplished and give him the spotlight all to himself during what is expected to be the final year of his career.
It’s the same story in the lightweight division, where Tony Ferguson deserves to be lauded for his lengthy winning streak and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s dominance should be celebrated without having to always circle things back to a certain Irishman who hasn’t fought in nearly 15 months.
Daniel Cormier is one of the greatest fighters in the history of this sport, full stop. It’s time to start recognizing him as such and stop worrying so much about competitors who are no longer competing.