UFC 230 Preview
UFC veterans all want to leave the game at the top of their career with a legend that requires them to be considered among the best ever.
Some do it quietly and claim that they don’t care about their legend while others lay out their goals.
Daniel Cormier is one of those who fully admits that he is now chasing legacy above all things.
Cormier has made no secret about this plans to retire as he has said multiple times that he doesn’t want to fight beyond his 39th birthday.
That leaves him until March 20, 2019, to fight as he has set that as his deadline for the remainder of his career.
He has nothing left to prove in the sport either as he was already one of the best fighters in the sport as the light heavyweight champion who has only lost to Jon Jones, a fighter that tested positive for PEDs just after both wins over Cormier.
As the light heavyweight champion, he would always go down as a great fighter and had a chance at the UFC hall of fame.
He wasn’t satisfied with that though as after setting that deadline for retirement he has been on a mission to solidify his place in the history of the UFC.
He proved to be the best in the division when he defended the belt against Volkan Oezdemir and left few challengers.
He moved up in weight to the heavyweight division, a division he left when his training partner Cain Velasquez was signed by the UFC.
He jumped up in weight and beat the best heavyweight champion in the history of the UFC to take his second title.
He joined Conor McGregor as the only fighters to hold two belts at the same time in the UFC only placing him among the best ever.
The pursuit of that legacy is only continuing though as he continues to look for fights that will make him not just another great fighter but the greatest.
There are fights waiting for him as Brock Lesnar looks to return to fight for the heavyweight title when his USADA suspension is over.
Cormier and Lesnar were supposed to fight but Lesnar’s suspension will last until the end of the year and the WWE superstar won’t be ready until the beginning of 2019.
Jon Jones is returning as well and Cormier is sure to want one last shot at his nemesis and the only man to beat him.
Jones will get a return fight first but spring could be the time when they face off again potentially for the heavyweight title.
Those are in the future though and Cormier was never one to take a long time off just to wait for big fights.
He is definitely looking for those fights especially when they come with the paydays that they are sure to bring.
There is still too much time in between though and so Cormier looked elsewhere for a fight that could solidify his spot.
The one thing McGregor missed when he took those two titles is an actual title defence as he never fought challengers in either the featherweight or the lightweight division.
Cormier has defended his light heavyweight belt multiple times and so it was only natural that he would look to defend his heavyweight title.
He will do it against one of the biggest heavyweight names right now in Derrick Lewis who continues to make headlines for his knockout power and post-fight interviews.
Only a few weeks ago Lewis took on rising star Alexander Volkov and looked pretty terrible for most of the fight.
He was tired and his gas tank empty until he threw a signature right that ended the fight despite him losing for three rounds.
That knockout was only overshadowed by the interview after the fight when he took his shorts off and said “my balls were hot” when asked why.
His interview was one of the most talked about parts of the night and that hype gave him a platform.
Despite claiming that he wasn’t ready for a title shot, Lewis accepted the fight against Cormier and will take his shot at the title that he was always headed for.
It will be a tough one for Lewis as Cormier has that knockout power at heavyweight but is also one of the best wrestlers in the UFC.
He has a choice of what to do and where to take this fight but Lewis wins the power equation in this fight.
Although Cormier has found his power at a heavier weight Lewis is capable of ending a fight with one punch and that punch can come at any time.
For Cormier every move he makes is for his legacy but if Lewis can win he might just take come of that legacy becoming only the second man to beat the two-division champion.
The Sport Addiction 