Daniel Cormier defines what makes a “Great” UFC championship reign

UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier believes there’s a specific standard that modern champions must reach to be considered a legend in the sport.

Cormier knows a thing or two about what it takes to be considered an all-time great in MMA. After a legendary run in the UFC that featured two divisional titles, he’s become one of the top analysts in combat sports.

Since Cormier retired from fighting in 2020, UFC championship reigns have shrunken dramatically. Regardless of division, titleholders have been a revolving door in recent years.

Daniel Cormier opines on what makes a “Great” UFC champion

During a recent episode of Good Guy/Bad Guy with Chael Sonnen, Cormier weighed in on the state of UFC champions.

“I think the reason we don’t have that star, is it’s hard to be a long-reigning champion,” Cormier said. “That’s the problem. The game has gotten so hard now, that Anderson [Silva] had what, 11 title defenses? Jon Jones had 13? Who is doing that anymore? We talked bout Sean O’Malley as if he had a great title reign, but he defended the belt one time. Imagine if he did it seven times…

“A long title reign is very difficult. It’s what’s needed to become a real draw. You cannot just be a flash-in-the-pan champion,” Cormier continued. “Unfortunately, [Israel Adesanya] was a draw because he held that belt for a long time, but since he lost the belt, the number isn’t as great…the reigns aren’t as long [now]. I was talking to some of the guys on the weigh-in show… what would you consider a great championship reign today? For me right now, I think defending that belt three times. Winning the title, defending it three times, I think it gets you in the Hall of Fame because it’s so hard to hold on to the belt today.”

Islam Makhachev, Alexandre Pantoja, Alex Pereira, and Zhang Weili are all one win away from Cormier’s three-defense standard.