Stipe Miocic vs Daniel Cormier is the best heavyweight title fight the UFC could have made at this point.
All the evidence suggests that Stipe Miocic vs Daniel Cormier is going to be an awesome
UFC 226 headliner.
Miocic has the opportunity to extend his consecutive title defence record against a marquee name who's undefeated at heavyweight. It's also a fresh match-up in a division that has a dearth of contenders. If Cormier didn't get a crack, the promotion would have to either take a chance on Cain Velasquez, give Fabricio Werdum a rematch or hope someone like Alexander Volkov emerges as a top contender.
There was a perfectly worthy challenger for Cormier waiting in the wings. Number one contender Alexander Gustafsson is riding a two-fight win streak after losing a competitive split decision to DC for the strap. However, injury meant 'the Mauler' would have to wait for the fight.
So on paper, Cormier vs Miocic was the best option, but it does not address serious problems in the promotion. In fact, it could
potentially intensify them.
https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/958092644349104128
Ideally, this fight goes off without a hitch. Here's hoping whatever the result is, it allows both divisions to progress as normal with neither title getting held up for a prolonged period. If both men come through relatively unscathed with legitimate title contenders emerging in the meantime, this could work out very well for all parties.
Cormier has promised to move back down to 205 to defend his title after the fight. He made the vow in an interview with
ESPN. After UFC 226, he's eyeing up a defence before the year's end.
"It's gonna suck. Every time it sucks, but it's my weight class. I owe it to the guys in the division to go back down and fight them."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPAEJIEeOeM
That's fantastic. Cormier claims he has no intention of holding up any belt. We believe him too. The issue is, having the best intentions can mean very little in one of the most unpredictable sports in the world.
Imagine a scenario, god forbid, where Cormier manages to win but gets so hurt in the process where he is unable to return to the Octagon for a year or longer. Now there are two titles not being defended for over a year. If you're not a fan of interim titles, this will be a particularly tough time for you.
There is a chance this happens. If Cormier was booked against Gustafsson, there would be zero chance of this happening. At worst, one belt would be held up in that situation.
If there were exciting contenders available to slot into an interim title fight, this may not be that much of a deal. The fact is though, there really isn't. The UFC have struggled to build up contenders in the heavy divisions for the last while and losing the likes of Ryan Bader, Phil Davis and Nikita Krylov certainly hasn't helped matters.
UFC 226 will be one hell of a night, but let's hope the subsequent nights don't suffer because of it.
