The legacy of Daniel Cormier
And more from a packed weekend
If there was ever a reminder that things don’t just work out, it came Saturday night.
Daniel Cormier, with a chance to ride off into the proverbial sunset as the greatest UFC heavyweight of all time, fell short in what will likely be his final fight. Cormier had his moments but lost to Stipe Miocic by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47). He’d said this would be his last time in the Octagon and reiterated the same after the fight.
The narrative of this fight was about Cormier, even though Miocic is now clearly the heavyweight GOAT, having finished his trilogy with a close but decisive win. Miocic deserves all sorts of praise and recognition, but for now let’s talk about Cormier’s legacy.
Cormier was an incredibly accomplished college wrestler, but his collegiate career doesn’t include a national championship. That’s because, despite being a generational talent, he went up against another generational talent in Cael Sanderson. Cormier beat almost everyone else in the country, but he was always No. 2 to Sanderson.
When he got to the UFC and dropped from heavyweight to light heavyweight so he didn’t have to fight his teammate Cain Velasquez, he entered into a brutal rivalry with Jon Jones. Cormier won the light heavyweight title, but only when Jones wasn’t fighting because of out of the cage issues. Jones beat Cormier twice, and even though the second fight was overturned when Jones tested positive for a banned substance, Cormier’s legacy at 205 is clear: he’s second best to Jones.
He moved up to heavyweight and promptly knocked out Miocic to become the second simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history. It was probably the best moment of his career. Then he lost the belt to Miocic in their rematch, setting up a legendary trilogy fight on Saturday night.
What was at stake for Cormier was more than just a belt or the ability to walk away on top. It was the opportunity to finally cement himself as the guy in a particular time period. He’s spent so much time being second-best, and now, with this loss to Miocic, it will partially define his career.
But it’s not the whole story of Daniel Cormier. The guy is a legend, a surefire Hall-of-Famer who broke numerous records in his career. More importantly, he set a standard for not just fighters but athletes in general. Both inside and outside the cage, Cormier showed us what it means to be a role model. An incredible commentator, podcast host and wrestling coach, Cormier is well set up for retirement.
People counted DC out at every stage of his career. All he did was prove them wrong, constantly fighting the best guys in the world and beating almost all of them. Here’s hoping history remembers DC for what he was: an all-time great.
Meanwhile, an upset!
Cecilia Braekhus’ dominance had been a given in boxing since she won a welterweight title in 2009. “The First Lady” was undefeated, hoping to make a record 26th title defense on Saturday against Jessica McCaskill. Not that McCaskill didn’t have a shot, but I don’t think a lot of people were picking her to win.
Chicago’s McCaskill, though, took the fight to Braekhus and earned a hard-fought majority decision win (95-95, 97-94, 97-93) to shock the boxing world and take the undisputed welterweight title. Braekhus, who didn’t look great on the night, hinted at retirement after the fight.
McCaskill (9-2, 3 KOs) challenged undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor in 2017 and lost a decision. This win puts her in position for a rematch if Taylor gets through her own rematch with Delfine Persoon this Saturday.
Braekhus had been at or near the top of the women’s pound for pound rankings before the loss, which marked the first time she’s ever seen a scorecard for her opponent in her career. My updated women’s pound for pound list is:
Katie Taylor
Claressa Shields
Amanda Serrano
Jessica McCaskill
Cecilia Braekhus
If Persoon beats Taylor, we’ll need to revisit that very soon.
Elsewhere in the squared circle…
David Benavidez missed weight but knocked out Roamer Alexis Angulo, which means the WBC super middleweight title is now vacant. Benavidez is one of the best young fighters in boxing but has now lost his title twice outside the ring…
Uber prospect Israil Madrimov (6-0, 5 KOs) won a decision over Eric Walker (20-3, 9 KOs) in a fight that was marred by bad officiating. Madrimov struggled more than expected against Walker, losing rounds and looking tired at the beginning of the fight before he floored Walker with a left hook in the 9th round. The referee, for some reason that no one understands, ruled that Madrimov bumped Walker with his shoulder and sent him to the canvas. He then gave Walker — who was completely out of it and would’ve likely been knocked out if he’d been given a 10-count — five minutes to recover. Walker recovered and took lots of unnecessary punishment in the last three rounds before Madrimov won a unanimous decision (116-111, 116-110, 116-110)…
Elsewhere in the cage…
Speaking of highly-touted prospects, it wasn’t a good night for Sean O’Malley, who suffered a loss for the first time in his career at the hands of Marlon “Chito” Vera. O’Malley (12-1) appeared to injure his leg in the first round and had trouble moving around before Vera (16-6-1) landed some nasty ground-and-pound to finish the fight prematurely. Vera is primed for a big fight, while all eyes will be on the extent of O’Malley’s injury…
Jairzinho Rozenstruik knocked out former champ Junior Dos Santos in the second round of their heavyweight bout. Rozenstruik (11-1) bounced back from his 20-second KO loss to Francis Ngannou while Dos Santos (21-8) suffered his 3rd-straight KO loss…
What to watch this weekend
DAZN, 2 p.m. EST, Saturday
Dillian Whyte vs Alexander Povetkin (for Whyte’s WBC heavyweight title)
Katie Taylor vs Delfine Persoon 2 (for Taylor’s undisputed lightweight title)
ESPN+, 7:30 p.m. EST, Saturday
Eleider Alvarez vs Joe Smith (WBO light heavyweight eliminator)
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That’s it from me. See you next week.