The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Miocic challenge not new to Cormier
Daniel Cormer is no stranger to a huge challenge.
It goes back to when Penn State coach Cael Sanderson was ruling the college wrestling world as a four-time undefeated NCAA champion in the late 1990s and early 2000s for Iowa State.
Cormier, who wrestled for two years at Oklahoma State and later in the Olympics, faced Sanderson six times in college. He lost all of those matches, including his last to Sanderson by a score of 8-4 in the 2001 NCAA final at 184 pounds.
“Tough guy,” said Sanderson in March during the D-I Wrestling Championships at Quicken Loans Arena. “One of the toughest guys I wrestled in college.”
Sanderson’s four-year mark of 159-0 is unmatched, and he’s widely considered the greatest college wrestler of all-time.
Next up for Cormier is another GOAT — UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, whose three straight title defenses of his championship belt is unmatched in the division. The Eastlake North graduate’s place as the UFC’s greatest heavyweight has been debated since he defeated Francis Ngannou by a five-round unanimous decision in January at UFC 220.
Cormier won’t make the GOAT claim about Miocic, but did give him praise nonetheless with their super fight in Las Vegas at UFC 226 just days away.
“I’m fighting the heavyweight champion of the world ... the most successful heavyweight champion of the world,” said Cormier during a June 28 UFC teleconference. “I think Stipe is great. Do I think he’s
the best heavyweight of all time? No, I still believe Cain Velasquez is.”
Cormier and Velasquez are close friends, and before Cormier agreed to move up a class from light heavyweight, where he’s the UFC’s current champion, to heavyweight and face the champion, he and Velasquez discussed it thoroughly. Velasquez’s status among heavyweights is solid as a two-time champion with wins over former champions Brock Lesnar and Junior dos Santos.
Velasquez’s problem hasn’t been inside the ring. It’s staying healthy outside it. He’s battled injuries, and fought once since losing the championship belt to Fabricio Werdum in 2015.
Now it’s the Miocic show. He’s held the belt since May 2016, when his knockout of Werdum came in front of 45,000 in Brazil, Werdum’s home country.
Now it’s Cormier’s chance to grab the heavyweight
belt, and become the fifth UFC fighter to hold two belts at one time. To say Cormier’s happy to be competing at heavyweight (206 to 265 pounds) might be an understatement. He competed at heavyweight in the early part of his UFC career, but since competing at light heavyweight cutting weight hasn’t been fun for him.
At UFC 220 in Boston, Cormier was the last fighter to weigh in the day before his championship fight, which he won with a firstround submission hold vs. Volkan Oezdemir.
“I question how I put so much energy into training camp when I’m so depleted in terms of my nutrition, but it’s what I do,” said Cormier about fighting at light heavyweight. “205 is the weight class I fight at. Boston was tough. It was cold, and tough to break a sweat, but I made it and I won the fight.”
Jumping to heavyweight might put Cormier at a disadvantage
— he’s 5-foot11, 230 pounds and Miocic 6-4, 245 — but the 39-yearold resident of San Jose is confident for his July 7 super fight.
“I feel much stronger,” said Cormier. “When I was fighting up at heavyweight, when I punched them it had a greater affect on them. Lately, I haven’t had that at 205, and I had to question whether the guys down there just have better chins, or if the extra weight was making me stronger. Now in practice, I’m dropping guys with my punches. So I’m seeing the affect I’m having with my hands and my feet when I’m making contact in practice.”
Despite his size and reach advantage — Miocic’s is 80 inches compared to Cormier’s 72 — the heavyweight champ won’t dare take his opponent lightly.
“He’s gonna bring it,” said Miocic. “He brings to the table every time. He comes at you hard.”