Daniel Cormier says Stipe Miocic is the greatest MMA heavyweight of all time, not Fedor Emelianenko
Daniel Cormier is saying it is Stipe Miocic that is the greatest MMA heavyweight of all time, not Fedor Emelianenko.
Fedor Emelianenko (40-7 MMA) retired this past Saturday, February 4th, after a first round knockout loss to heavyweight champion Ryan Bader (31-7 MMA) at Bellator 290.
‘The Last Emperor’, 46, laid down his gloves after a 23 year professional career in MMA.
While Cormier believes Emelianenko is a great heavyweight, he does not believe he’s the best of the best.
Cormier, speaking on his ESPN show ‘DC & RC’ had this to say about his pick for greatest MMA heavyweight of all time (h/t MMAJunkie):
“I don’t believe (Fedor’s) the greatest heavyweight of all time. I think that belongs to Stipe Miocic, but only because Cain Velasquez was injured so much. I think in terms of skill, there’s no one that ever matched Cain Velasquez at heavyweight.”
Continuing the 43 year old Cormier said:
“But I believe that Stipe Miocic’s title defenses and the long reign that he had at the top of the division puts him atop. But Fedor is in the top five, and I don’t think that’s anything to be ashamed of.”
So, there you have it, Daniel Cormier believes Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA) is the greatest heavyweight of all time. It is true that Miocic holds the UFC heavyweight record for three consecutive title defences with wins over Alistair Overeem (47-19 MMA), Junior Dos Santos (21-10 MMA) and Francis Ngannou (17-3 MMA).
Stipe has not fought in the UFC since losing his heavyweight belt to Francis Ngannou in March of 2021 at UFC 260.
Daniel Cormier (22-3 MMA) has a history with Miocic, they fought 3 times in a row in 2018, 2019 and 2020. While Stipe initially lost by KO to Cormier in 2018, he went on to defeat him at UFC 241 and UFC 252. It was after that final trilogy fight with Miocic that Cormier retired from the sport and became a commentator for the UFC.
Do you agree with the former UFC dual champion that Stipe Miocic is the greatest MMA heavyweight of all time?
Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!
