Cormier doubles up belts

LAS VEGAS Daniel Cormier knocked out the UFC heavyweight champion, argued with a professional wrestler and left the octagon dancing with glee and perfect balance, thanks to one championship belt on each arm.

There will never be another Saturday night like it for the 39-year-old former amateur wrestler who stands on the pinnacle of the UFC. Make that two pinnacles. Cormier added the heavyweight championship to his light heavyweight title when he stopped Stipe Miocic in dramatic fashion during the first round of their superfight at UFC 226.

Late in a lively opening round, Cormier (21-1, 1 nocontest) abruptly flattened the UFC’s long-reigning heavyweight kingpin with a right elbow out of a clinch. He finished Miocic (18-3) on the ground with 27 seconds left in the round, landing several shots to the defenceless champion’s head.

Cormier became the second fighter in UFC history to hold two championship belts simultaneously. Conor McGregor was the UFC’s featherweight champ in 2016 when he took the lightweight title from Eddie Alvarez.

“I was a heavyweight for a long time, and I left the division,” Cormier said. “I never knew what I could become, but tonight I got the answer. I’m a two-division champion, baby!”

Cormier is on top of the sport with less than a year to go until reaching his selfimposed retirement age of 40.

After beating Miocic, Cormier engaged in a bit of theatrics with Brock Lesnar, the professional wrestler and former UFC heavyweight champion. Cormier called Lesnar into the cage, and Lesnar shoved Cormier in the chest while the fighters traded insults to hype a potential future bout.