LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Daniel Cormier knocked out the UFC heavyweight
champion, argued with a professional wrestler and left the octagon
dancing with glee and perfect balance, thanks to one championship belt
on each arm.
There will never be another Saturday night like it for the
39-year-old former amateur wrestler who stands on the pinnacle of the
UFC.
Make that two pinnacles.
Cormier added the heavyweight championship to his light heavyweight title when he stopped Stipe Miocic
in dramatic fashion during the first round of their superfight at UFC
226.
Late in a lively opening round, Cormier (21-1, 1 no-contest)
abruptly flattened the UFC's long-reigning heavyweight kingpin with a
right elbow out of a clinch. He finished Miocic (18-3) on the ground
with 27 seconds left in the round, landing several shots to the
defenseless champion's head.
Cormier became the second fighter in UFC history to hold two
championship belts simultaneously. Conor McGregor was the UFC's
featherweight champ in 2016 when he took the lightweight title from
Eddie Alvarez.
"I was a heavyweight for a long time, and I left
the division," Cormier said. "I never knew what I could become, but
tonight I got the answer. I'm a two-division champion, baby!"
Cormier,
a former Strikeforce heavyweight champion who moved down in weight to
avoid fighting a good friend, has never lost to anyone except Jon Jones,
the star-crossed former light heavyweight champion who beat him twice.
The second victory last summer was changed to a no-contest when Jones
failed a doping test, and he remains out of the sport.
Cormier is on top of it with less than a year to go until reaching his self-imposed retirement age of 40.
"I'm
39 years old, and I've been second many times," Cormier said. "But
today, I have accomplished everything I ever wanted. From crying in this
octagon almost a year ago, to leaving as the heavyweight champion."
After beating Miocic, Cormier engaged in a bit of clearly
planned theatrics with Brock Lesnar, the professional wrestler and
former UFC heavyweight champion. Cormier called Lesnar into the cage,
and Lesnar shoved Cormier in the chest while the fighters traded insults
to hype a potential future bout.
"Push me now, (and) you're going to sleep later," Cormier yelled at Lesnar. "Your days are in the past. In the stone age."
Lesnar,
likely the biggest pay-per-view draw in UFC history, is widely expected
to return to MMA early next year. White confirmed he'll book Cormier
against Lesnar as soon as Lesnar has completed the requisite drug
testing, but Cormier said he would like to defend his 205-pound title
later this year before fighting Lesnar.
