Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier will go to war in a Heavyweight clash TONIGHT (July 7, 2018) at UFC 226 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Miocic has not lost a round in a UFC title fight despite competing in four of them. A trio of first-round knockouts definitely helps that stat, but his five-round domination of Francis Ngannou last time out proved Miocic’s status as arguably the best Heavyweight in UFC history.
Meanwhile, Cormier has been absolutely flawless outside of his losses to the enhanced Jon Jones, winning and defending the Light Heavyweight crown multiple times as well. Without a clear No. 1 contender in either division, the timing worked out perfectly, and fight fans will be treated to an excellent and reasonable super fight tonight.
Let’s take a closer look at the keys to victory for each man.
Stipe Miocic
Record: 18-2
Key Wins: Fabricio Werdum (UFC 198), Alistair Overeem (UFC 203), Junior dos Santos (UFC 211), Mark Hunt (UFC Fight Night 65), Andrei Arlovski (UFC 195)
Key Losses: Junior dos Santos (UFC on FOX 13), Stefan Struve (UFC on Fuel TV 5)
Keys to Victory: Miocic is a skilled, rangy boxer and strong wrestler. More than that, he’s a smart fighter who makes the most of his skills and attributes, adjusting his approach to the specific foe and winning as a result.
Opposite Cormier, Miocic could realistically find success with at range or with pressure. He does have a significant reach advantage over the Light Heavyweight champion, meaning staying behind the jab and low kick could fluster Cormier all night.
At the same time, that’s not the approach I’d recommend. Working from the outside is great, but it probably won’t produce an early knockout unless Cormier is sloppy. Giving Cormier time to work means giving him time to adjust, and it also brings up the question of conditioning.
Instead, Miocic should make the most of his size, power, and defensive wrestling by immediately walking Cormier down. That’s not something Cormier is accustomed to, and Miocic is big enough to shuck off early takedown attempts regardless of Cormier’s credentials. Frankly, the result of early Miocic pressure is likely a boxing match in the pocket, and that’s a recipe for lights out.
Daniel Cormier
Record: 20-1 (1)
Key Wins: Anthony Johnson (UFC 210, UFC 187), Alexander Gustafsson (UFC 192), Josh Barnett (Strikeforce: Barnett vs Cormier), Anderson Silva (UFC 200)
Key Losses: Jon Jones (UFC 182)
Keys to Victory: Cormier lives up to his “King of the Grind” moniker. The former Olympian has a chain of takedowns that is remarkably difficult to stop, and once in top position, he tends to dominate. Furthermore, his boxing has improved a great deal in the last year or so.
If Miocic’s best bet is to try to blast Cormier early, it’s Cormier’s job to not get destroyed immediately. It’s actually somewhat reminiscent of the Anthony Johnson fights in that Cormier doesn’t need to win the early rounds, he just has to survive them.
I’d like to see Cormier really commit to his wrestling opposite Miocic. In the past, Cormier has drifted between wrestling and striking, occasionally boxing with foes when it was ill-advised to do so. While Miocic is fresh and at his most powerful, each exchange carries a significant risk of knockout, so he cannot make that mistake here.
The goal for Cormier is simple: make this a miserable fight. Each time Miocic steps forward, shoot a single. If it fails, hang on his neck or try to push him into the fence. The second Miocic breaks away and is ready to attack, shoot again.
Conclusion: This is a killer super fight between two men who are legitimately the best in their divisions.
The general narrative around Miocic is that he’s great but underappreciated. Some credit this to a lack of mainstream appeal, but others argue that his opponents were either too old or too young. Either way, the solution for Miocic is to just keep winning. After all, Anderson Silva didn’t get all that popular until his seventh title defense.
A huge win as the headline of international fight week should certainly help his cause.
As for Cormier, this is his moment to really distinguish himself, both as an all-time great and as a separate legend from Jon Jones. As mentioned, Miocic is well-established as a Heavyweight champion for the history books, so jumping up in weight to take him out would truly be a unique accomplishment.
Between the two, Miocic is the man who really has something to lose. If Cormier comes up short, he can just mosey on home to 205 lbs., where he’ll still hold the title. Miocic, meanwhile, would be forced back into the pool of Heavyweight contenders and have to work back to a title.
At UFC 226, Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier will square off in the main event. Which man will have his hand raised?