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While Daniel Cormier's career announces as a retirement at the age of 40, next year he finds himself in an interesting historical place.
There will be some who will never let him forget his two defeats against Jon Jones, as if two defeats to the man who would arguably be the best fighter of all time he managed to get noticed in out of the Octagon career as exceptional as that of Cormier.
And then there are those who will look at the breadth of Cormier's book and his time in the sport and recognize, quite rightly, that his achievements make him a serious contender for being the greatest fighter in the history of the sport. MMA.
Did Cormier's victory on Saturday night over Derrick Lewis add a significant new dimension to his case for the over-used GOAT coat? Maybe not in the same way as some of his other more remarkable victories. It was not in the same league as Stipe Miocic's quick dismissal, by Cormier, or a litany of his other victories. It was simple, professional and easy.
Lewis is far from the complete martial artist that Cormier is. But then, little in the history have been. The 33-year-old challenger entered the Octagon at UFC 230 in New York City with essentially the same powerful and singular tool that he still carries in the cage, namely: the ability to pose a single punch in the face. it can end a fight instantly, no matter how much the fight went on for him.
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A chance to punch. It's a cliché, but that's what Lewis had when you summed it up to the basics. And it was not enough. Not far away. Cormier took Lewis to the canvas at will, revealing a gulf in wrestling that Lewis, he'd devote exclusively to the next 10 years to wrestling training, would still not be able to cross. Cormier used dragees, sidewalks and even a choice of ankle to keep Lewis on the back before the champion gets a strangle and a naked submission to the back for the winner.
"I think a lot of people have to understand that I've been doing this for nine years and that I've fought at the championship level for eight of them," Cormier told Joe Rogan during the broadcast at TV on TV beat you up. "So, there are no surprises with me, I come here and I try to do what I want.If you have a chance to punch, as I said, this is It's not enough – you have to be one of the best in the world to even compete and Derrick is good, but not yet at this level. "
There will be Cormier skeptics – those heartless who are delighted to see his tears running after the second loss to Jones in July 2017 should fall into this category – who will use Cormier's win against Lewis on Saturday night as a kind of blot. They will make fun and pretend that Lewis was a kid's game and that beating it is not such an awesome feat, as if the 21-6 challenger was a companion who has never won at the UFC.
That's wrong, of course. Lewis is not the most complete fighter, but his skills translate into the confines of the cage. This is a good fighter. A dangerous fighter.
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And consider that Cormier entered the Octagon at the last minute, just like Lewis. He also has a broken hand. I met Cormier in his hotel room in September, during the UFC 228 fight week in Dallas, and he told me that he was out of question that he is available to fight before January. We sat on his couch, watching his son's football videos on his iPhone, and we explained how excited he was to be able to do that. To be a dad, all the time. In the meantime, he wanted to let his hand heal and then prepare for the fight expected in 2019 against Brock Lesnar.
But then, the UFC called with a big request for money and Cormier could not refuse it. Who could? So he entered the cage against a power puncher without the ability to grab or punch a hand. He always took the fight and he still easily beat a man who cleared his share of heavyweights.
As for the continuation? No date has yet been set, but Cormier will likely close his career with a big battle against Lesnar, the former UFC heavyweight champion, who holds the title of best singles champion. WWE. Cormier, a notoriously thrifty athlete, will earn enough money that night to support generations of his family, and he will move away from the sport. Whether he joins the WWE commentary team or stays alongside the UFC when he moves on to ESPN next year, he will always be in the public eye even when his It's no longer in the cage.
And beyond that? The UFC Hall of Fame is probably the next – a well-deserved honor for a man who was already the greatest fighter in the history of sport before even entering the cage of the most famous arena of the world.
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