Titlists Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier retain UFC belts
ULTIMATE Fighting Championship (UFC) titleholders Stipe Miocic and Daniel “DC” Cormier retained their respective belts following victories at “UFC 220” yesterday in Boston, Massachusetts.
Mr. Miocic made it three straight successful title defenses of his heavyweight championship by outlasting and outworking challenger Francis “The Predator” Ngannou in their headlining five-rounder while Mr. Cormier retained the light heavyweight title with a dominating performance over challenger Volkan “No Time” Oezdemir that culminated with a technical knockout win by way of punches in the second round.
The heavyweight title clash got off to an exhilarating start with both fighters connecting with hits as they jockeyed for position in establishing control of the match.
As the fight wore on though, Mr. Ngannou, who is accustomed to short finishes in the cage on the strength of his power, just could not sustain the high energy as he fell prey to the takedowns and ground and pound of the champion which proved to have drained him a lot.
In the fifth round, Mr. Ngannou just did not have enough left and just spent most of the time surviving en route to the unanimous decision loss, 50-44, 50-44 and 50-44.
“I’m the scariest. I’m the baddest. But it was tough. The fight was the way I expected it,” said Mr. Miocic (17-2) after the win.
For Mr. Ngannou (11-2), he said he might have underestimated Mr. Miocic and nonetheless congratulated the latter for a deserving victory.
BACK TO WINNING
In the co-main event light heavyweight title showdown, Mr. Corm- ier (20-1, one no contest) stamped his class as a champion fighter by dominating Swiss Oezdemir.
Mr. Oezdemir did not waste much time engaging, landing some solid hits to the head of Mr. Cormier.
The American champion eventually hit his strides as the opening round progressed. He managed to hurt his opponent with jabs and punches before bringing him down after grabbing one of his legs.
On his back, Mr. Oezdemir tried desperately to fend off the rearnaked choke that Mr. Cormier put on him in the closing seconds and was just lucky to have been saved by the bell.
Mr. Cormier sustained his fine form in the second round, going for the challenger’s leg anew and successfully pulled him down to the ground.
It was only a matter time before Mr. Cormier went for the finish, going on a crucifix position and creating damage then unleashing a barrage of punches to which Mr. Oezdemir had answer to, prompting the referee to stop the fight with 120 seconds left in the second.
Considering the rough patch of late he had in the Octagon, the significance of the victory was not lost to Mr. Cormier.
“It’s great to win again,” said the champion in the post-fight interview inside the cage.
“It’s because of my greatest rival, but it feels good to get back in here and get a victory. I’ve lost twice to Jon Jones. As I came into this fight, I felt as though I was fighting for a vacant title again because (Jones) beat me last time. I fought for a vacant title and I got the job done, so I’m the UFC champion again,” he added.
With the loss, Mr. Oezdemir (15-2) saw his five-fight winning streak come to an end.
In earlier fights, featherweight Calvin Kattar defeated Shane Burgos by TKO (punches) in the third round, light heavyweight Gian Villante edged Francimar Barroso by split decision (30-27, 28-29 and 3027), bantamweight Ron Font beat Thomas Almeida by TKO (head kicks and punches) in the second round.
Next for the UFC is “UFC on Fox” on Jan. 28 (Manila time) in Charlotte, North Carolina, that will be headlined by the middleweight rematch between Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Derek Brunson.
In the Philippines, Cignal TV, the country’s foremost direct-tohome (DTH) company, is the home of the UFC after the two groups agreed to an extensive deal that will see the UFC beamed on various platforms.