Daniel Cormier registered a first-round knockout against Stipe Miocic on Saturday to claim the UFC heavyweight championship at UFC 226 in Las Vegas.
Cormier who also happens to be the UFC light heavyweight champion became the second fighter in the company's history to hold titles in two weight divisions at the same time. Conor McGregor was the first to achieve the feat in 2016.
Cormier Joins Elite Class
Additionally, Cormier also joined McGregor, Randy Couture, Georges St-Pierre, and B.J. Penn as the only fighters to win belts in two different weight divisions. Prior to moving to the light heavyweight division, Cormier also competed in the heavyweight class but decided to move down because of his teammate Cain Velasquez who was also an erstwhile UFC heavyweight champion.
"I was crying in his Octagon almost a year ago to the day. I went from that to become the heavyweight champion," said an emotional Cormier during the post-match interview.
It can be brought to mind that Cormier suffered a vicious knockout loss to Jon Jones after receiving a massive kick into the head. However, the match was later changed into a no-contest after Jones was tested positive for taking performance-enhancing drugs.
The win was also the first knockout victory for Cormier since 2014 when he knocked out Patrick Cummins. With the victory, Cormier improved his record to 21-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC while Miocic dropped to 18-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC.
Lesnar vs Cormier
Moments after the post-match interview, Cormier took the microphone from Joe Rogan and called out the former heavyweight champion and current wrestling star Brock Lesnar who was sitting in the cage side. Lesnar would then shove Cormier while reiterating that he is coming for the latter.
The 40-year-old Lesnar hasn't appeared in a single UFC match since his unanimous victory over Mark Hunt at UFC 200 last July 2016. However, Lesnar's victory was quickly changed to a no-contest after Lesnar failed numerous drug tests.
Lesnar is currently serving a suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency. UFC president Dana White guaranteed the fans that they will be working hard to make the fight happen.
Chiesa Loses To Pettis
Meanwhile, Curtis Millender scored a 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 unanimous decision victory over Max Griffin while Drakkar Klose outsmarted Lando Vannata 30-27, 30-27, 30-27. Raphael Assuncao and Derrick Lewis also beat their respective matches via unanimous decisions.
On the other hand, Paulo Costa threw an array of punches to score a second-round technical knockout victory over Uriah Hall while Mike Perry registered a split-decision win over Paul Felder. In other matches, Khalil Rountree knocked out Gokhan Saki in the first round while Anthony Pettis silenced Michael Chiesa in the second round by an armbar submission maneuver.
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