Is Daniel Cormier UFC's GOAT After Stunning Stipe Miocic Upset?

It was the chance of a lifetime for two men. 

For Daniel Cormier, Saturday's UFC 226 fight against Stipe Miocic in Las Vegas represented the ultimate opportunity: a chance to cement himself as one of the greatest fighters in the promotion's history and likely the undisputed greatest of all time.  

Yes, this is despite his losses to Jon Jones. Cormier will always live in the shadow of Jones' greatness—at least in the eyes of fans who are willing to overlook the latter's personal darkness and the pall it casts over his career.  

And yet, this remains true: A man who can win a championship in the UFC's light heavyweight division and then move up a weight class to face a man who might be the greatest of all time in his weight class—and then beat that man resoundingly in the first round—is either the greatest of all time or at worst in second place.  

For Miocic, it was the chance to vault over the vaunted career and legacy of the Russian mauler, Fedor Emelianenko, and become known as the greatest heavyweight ever. 

No UFC heavyweight has established a long-lasting legacy; this is because heavyweights, as the old saying goes, hit like heavyweights. They are bruisers. One punch can end a dominant title reign. There was a time when Cain Velasquez was considered unbeatable, and then, on the UFC's network television debut, Junior Dos Santos melted Velasquez and his dominance away like so much sand in rising tide waters.  

In the end, it was Miocic who was blasted by the rising tide of Cormier's right hand, and it was Cormier who became, if not the greatest fighter in UFC history, at least a close second to Georges St-Pierre. 

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The ending came in close quarters—the very place Cormier experienced the most successful moments of his early heavyweight career. He wasn't planted on two feet. The punch he threw won't show up in any sort of illustration of perfect technique. And yet it was enough to drop Miocic to the canvas, where Cormier pounced and finished the job with a few punches to Miocic's unprotected face.  

"I am 39 years old. I've been second a lot of times. From crying in the Octagon a year ago, to being the UFC heavyweight champion today," Cormier told Joe Rogan after the fight on the UFC pay-per-view. "This is the most amazing thing I have ever experienced."

But then, it was time to move on from Miocic. For Cormier seems to already have his next opponent. Former UFC heavyweight champion (and current WWE Universal champion) Brock Lesnar looks set to return to the Octagon to face Cormier after he serves a suspension from the USADA.

"There's a guy I've known for a long time. He's a wrestler. He's an All-American," Cormier said. "I never thought I would fight him. Brock Lesnar, get your ass in here."

And Lesnar did, indeed, head into the Octagon. He shoved Cormier and then said he'd come into the UFC a decade ago to wreck the heavyweight division, and he was back to wreck the newest slate of heavyweights. Cormier, who speaks with Lesnar frequently and considers him a friend, was clearly thrilled at the prospect of facing a man with whom he will make a great deal of money—win or lose. 


"DC, I am coming for you, motherf--ker," Lesnar said.

And thus, possibly the UFC's biggest fight of 2018 was born. 

But beyond the pro wrestling histrionics—which were welcome and entertaining in a UFC product that is growing boring—lies the simple fact that Cormier is perhaps the best fighter in the history of the sport. Yes, he has lost to Jones. Multiple times. But the nature of those losses, considering the failed drug tests from Jones, should make you question them. What is not questionable, however, is the notion that Cormier has done what no other man has been able to do: He has won the light heavyweight and heavyweight championships, and he's done it at the same time.  

He is no longer just the Daddest Man on the Planet. Now, he's the undisputed Baddest Man on the Planet.