You may or may not agree with placing Daniel Cormier in the conversations among the greatest of all time in the UFC, but after what took place on Saturday night at UFC 226, he has certainly earned the recognition. Cormier went into the Octagon looking to make history and become a simultaneous two-division champion by defeating reigning heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic -- and DC did just that.
Cormier became the new UFC heavyweight champion on Saturday night in quick and impressive fashion. After battling back and forth for a good portion of the opening round, Cormier landed a stiff right hook to the jaw of the seemingly unstoppable Miocic to shock the world and claim victory. It was Cormier's first knockout win since he KO'd Patrick Cummins in 2014.
"I am 39 years old, and I've been second a lot of times, but today I finally accomplished everything from crying in this very same octagon last year -- almost a year to the day -- to becoming the UFC heavyweight champion. Joe, this is the most amazing thing I've ever experienced," Cormier said after the fight.
Immediately, we would learn who Cormier's first challenger will inevitably be.
The new champ wasted no time in calling Brock Lesnar to the cage, who was sitting cageside for the main event. Lesnar entered the Octagon, shoved Cormier and quickly provided an answer. Cormier took the microphone and emphatically told Lesnar, "Shove me now, and go to sleep later," making quite the early prediction for their reported showdown at UFC 230 in New York.
That's later, however. The main focus of Saturday night is that Cormier quickly added to his legacy at UFC 226 by impressively ending the reign of the most dominant UFC heavyweight champion in history. Cormier joins Conor McGregor in becoming the only other fighter to hold two titles at the same time.
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Daniel Cormier (c) def. Stipe Miocic via first-round TKO (punches)
Derrick Lewis def. Francis Ngannou via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Mike Perry def. Paul Felder via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Anthony Pettis def. Michael Chiesa via second-round submission (Armbar)
Khalil Rountree def. Gokhan Saki via first-round TKO (punches)
Paulo Costa def. Uriah Hall via second-round TKO (punches)
Raphael Assuncao def. Rob Font via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Drakkar Klose def. Lando Vannata via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Curtis Millender def. Max Griffin via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)