Stipe Miocic Vs. Daniel Cormier Set For ‘UFC 226’
UFC just announced a huge fight for UFC 226 as heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic will be taking on the light heavyweight champion in Daniel Cormier for the heavyweight belt. UFC 226 takes place July 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.
Not only will Miocic and Cormier be fighting, but they will also be the head coaches of the reality show The Ultimate Fighter. Following the conclusion of the show, Miocic and Cormier will fight for the heavyweight belt.
Miocic (18-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) and Cormier (20-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) both fought at UFC 220 and both won their fights fairly easily to retain their respective belts. Cormier is coming off of a second-round TKO over Volkan Oezdemir, while Miocic is coming off of a unanimous win over Francis Ngannou, as he broke the record for most title defenses by a heavyweight in the UFC.
This will also not be the first time Cormier is fighting at heavyweight in the UFC, as before Cormier became the light heavyweight champion, Cormier was 13-0 as a heavyweight in the UFC.
Meanwhile, if Cormier can win this fight, he will become the second person in UFC history to hold two belts simultaneously, as Conor McGregor was the first to do so winning the lightweight belt in November, of 2016 after being the featherweight champion as well.
All roads lead to Las Vegas! @StipeMiocicUFC & @DC_MMA to coach #TUF27, will face off at #UFC226 for the HW strap!
? https://t.co/YSnabHhdls pic.twitter.com/OZ7MGbBk0d
— UFC (@ufc) January 27, 2018
However, Miocic is a tough fighter to beat and Cormier will have his hands full in this one. Both Miocic and Cormier are excellent wrestlers and they have shown the ability to knock people out as their standup game has gotten a lot better. It should be an interesting fight, but may not be the only championship fight at UFC 226.
Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting is also reporting that UFC 226 may feature more champion vs. champion fights, as flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson would taking on bantamweight champion in T.J. Dillashaw for the bantamweight belt. While women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg would be taking on bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. If all those fights happen, it should be a very good card and may be one of the best cards in the history of the UFC.
But for now, the one for sure fight is Cormier vs. Miocic which will be a huge fight, and if Cormier can win the fight, it will cement his legacy as one of the greatest UFC fighters in history. While if Miocic wins, he will cement himself as the best UFC heavyweight of all-time.
Both are fighting for their legacy and it should be a very good fight come July 7.
