Daniel Cormier: Why He Changed Divisions After UFC Dominance
HereS a breakdown of the key data from the text:
* Daniel Cormier‘s Move to Light Heavyweight: Cormier initially fought in the heavyweight division, winning his first two UFC fights by unanimous decision. however, he moved down to the light heavyweight division because he believed he couldn’t beat his teammate and then-champion, Cain Velasquez. He openly admits Velasquez would have defeated him.
* Cormier’s Assessment of Velasquez: Cormier states that Velasquez consistently beat him in practice, leading him to conclude he had no chance of winning against him in a fight. He even recently claimed that nobody would have beaten Velasquez if not for his injuries.
* Parallel with Merab Dvalishvili & Aljamain Sterling: Merab Dvalishvili drew a comparison between Cormier avoiding Velasquez and his own reluctance to fight Aljamain Sterling, noting that Cormier was the “first example to escape that problem” of facing a arduous teammate. Dvalishvili also admits he believes he cannot beat Sterling.
* Velasquez’s Reign: Cain Velasquez was the heavyweight champion when Cormier joined the UFC in 2013.they both trained at the same gym, American Kickboxing Academy (AKA).
In essence, the article highlights how a fighter (Cormier) strategically changed weight classes to avoid a matchup he believed he would lose, and how this situation resonated with another fighter (Dvalishvili) facing a similar dilemma.