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LAS VEGAS (AP) – Daniel Cormier is the king of two divisions of the UFC.
Cormier added the UFC heavyweight championship to his heavyweight title on Saturday night, stopping Stipe Miocic dramatically in the first round of their superficial UFC 226 .
Cormier (21-1, 1 no-contest) has crushed the UFC heavyweight champion for a long time with a right nudge in a clinch. He finished Miocic (18-3) on the ground with 27 seconds to play in the round by firing several shots at the helm of the defenseless champion.
Cormier became the second fighter in the history of the UFC to simultaneously hold two championship belts. Conor McGregor was the UFC featherweight champion in 2016 when he took the lightweight title of 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 am a two division champion, baby!
Cormier never lost to anyone, with the exception of Jon Jones, the former light heavyweight champion who beat him twice. The second win last summer was replaced by a non-contest when Jones failed a doping test, and he stays out of the sport.
Cormier reached its peak with less than a year before reaching his 40-year self-imposed retirement age.
"I am 39 years old and I have been second several times," said Cormier. "But today, I've accomplished everything I've ever wanted … to cry in this octagon almost a year ago, to leave as a heavyweight champion."
Cormier's 5-inch disadvantage and his 8-inch disadvantage against Miocic were no problem – and he actually weighed a few pounds more than Miocic weighed on Friday.
"During our studies, we knew that Stipe would withdraw a little from melee with his hands down, so I worked on it," Cormier said. "I spent all my camp knocking out my workout partners, and today I have to do it in the Octagon."
Cormier's move to Miocic's challenge was only the third overlay in the UFC's history between the defending champions of two weight clbades. Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre defended his belt in 2009 by defeating Lightweight Champion BJ Penn, and McGregor accomplished his feat less than two years ago in his last MMA fight.
After defeating Miocic, Cormier is engaged in a bit of theater with Brock Lesnar, professional wrestler and former UFC heavyweight champion. Cormier called Lesnar into the cage, and Lesnar pushed Cormier into the chest while the fighters exchanged insults to exaggerate a possible future fight.
"Shoot me now, (and) you'll sleep later," cried Cormier to Lesnar. "Your days are in the past, in the stone age."
Lesnar, probably the biggest draw in the history of the UFC, is expected to return to the MMA later this year or early next year.
He will have to face a remarkable fighter in Cormier, who was a heavy amateur fighter before his early MMA career. He won the Strikeforce heavyweight title before leaving the division when he joined the UFC because he did not want to fight against Cain Velasquez, his training partner and l '. former heavyweight champion of the UFC.
Earlier, heavyweight Derrick Lewis won a lifeless decision over Francis Ngannou, once a fearsome hope, at the main co-event of the UFC's biggest summer show. Welterweight Mike Perry also won a copiously bloody victory over split decision over Paul Felder.
But Cormier provides all the fireworks necessary for his demolition of Miocic, who had held the heavyweight belt for over two years. Miocic has been the most dominant heavyweight champion in the history of the most tumultuous division of the UFC, defending his belt a record of UFC three times.
The Cleveland firefighter had not lost since December 2014 and had not been arrested since September 2012.
The show closed the International Week of Fighting UFC early July in his hometown. For the fourth year in a row, the weekend pay-per-view card lost a major fight when featherweight champion Max Holloway was ruled out of his title defense with Brian Ortega because of the symptoms of a apparent concussion.
Lewis (20-5) won an easy decision victory by default virtually when Ngannou (11-3) appeared indifferent to the middleweight heavyweight engagement. Ngannou, who landed 11 strikes in three rounds, was considered the next heavyweight of the UFC before Miocic dominated him in January.
The extravagant Perry (12-3) ended a two-step skid with disciplined and punitive performance against Felder (15-4), who hung out despite a serious injury to Forearm right and a scary cut near his left eye. . Both fighters were covered in Felder's blood by the final bell.
Former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis also introduced Michael Chiesa in the second round with a triangle-shaped triangle. Pettis (21-7) shifted his big opponent with a right hand before winning for the third time in eight fights since 2014.
Earlier, undefeated Brazilian midfielder Paulo Costa stopped Uriah Hall in the second round of a breathtaking slugfest between two of the sport's toughest punches. Lightweight Khalil Rountree launched the PPV card with a surprising first-round stoppage of Gokhan Saki, a Dutch kickboxer announced in his third pro MMA fight.
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