MMA Junkie Radio co-host and MMA Junkie contributor Dan Tom breaks down the UFC’s top bouts. Today, we look at the main event for UFC 241 between heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and challenger and former titleholder Stipe Miocic.
UFC 241 takes place Saturday at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
Daniel Cormier (22-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC)
Staple info:
- Height: 5’11” Age: 40 Weight: 251 lbs. Reach: 72.5″
- Last fight: Submission win over Derrick Lewis(Nov. 3, 2018)
- Camp: American Kickboxing Academy (San Jose, CA)
- Stance/striking style: Orthodox/kickboxing
- Risk management: Good
Supplemental info:
+ UFC heavyweight champion
+ Former UFC light heavyweight champion
+ Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix winner
+ 2x U.S. Olympian (wrestling captain)
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt
+ 10 KO victories
+ 5 submission wins
+ 8 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Aggressive pace and pressure
+ Deceptive distance closer
^ Slips and rips way inside
+ Heavy overhands and uppercuts
+ Strong clinch game
^ Effective dirty boxer
+ Diverse takedown game
^ Favors high-crotch single
+ Transitions intelligently on top
Stipe Miocic (18-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC)
Staple info:
- Height: 6’4″ Age: 36 Weight: 242 lbs. Reach: 80″
- Last fight: Knockout loss to Daniel Cormier(July 7, 2018)
- Camp: Strong Style Fight Team (Ohio)
- Stance/striking style: Orthodox/kickboxing
- Risk management: Good
Supplemental info:
+ Former UFC heavyweight champion
+ Golden Gloves winner
+ NCAA Division 1 wrestler
+ Regional MMA title
+ 14 KO victories
+ 9 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Aggressive pace and pressure
+ Excellent footwork
+ Good sense inside the pocket
^ Pulls and returns well
+ Dangerous right hand
^ Counters well off of inside parry
+ Solid takedown transitions
^ Favors head-outside singles
+ Good positional rides
^ Active ground striker
+/- Coming off of a one-year layoff
Point of interest: Returning to the fire
The main event for UFC 241 features a rematch of a first-round hellfire that saw Cormier defeat Miocic for the heavyweight title back in July of last year.
Since then, not a lot has changed, as we still have a matchup between two fighters who use a lot of the same tools and themes to their high-pressure approach.
Hailing from San Jose’s American Kickboxing Academy, Cormier embodies a similar style to his stablemate, two-time former heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez. Stalking forward with feints, fakes and measuring jabs, Cormier will slip and rip his way inside. In recent years, Cormier has also applied a variation of hand-trapping, extending his arms out in order to bait opposition into exchanging with him on his terms.
Often punctuating his presence with hooks up high, the champion has no issues finishing with leg kicks down low. In fact, I think that Cormier has an underrated kicking ability, and I would not be surprised to see him pick up where he quietly left off in the first fight by continuing to kick at Miocic’s legs (perhaps trying to replicate the successes that fighters like Junior dos Santos found).
Nevertheless, regardless of the result or the comfort that Cormier may have felt the first time out, he will still need to respect the speed and power that will be coming back at him.
A Golden Gloves boxing winner before he even began his MMA career, Miocic has continually stood out among his contemporaries with his striking skills. Although Mioicic’s athletic ability and background in wrestling add an undeniable dimension to his game, it is the work that the champion does in small spaces that tends to make the difference.
Akin to a heavyweight version of Frankie Edgar, Miocic will steadily work behind a series of jabs and feints, stepping slightly off at an angle in search of his counters or followup shots. Moving just as well laterally as he does in and out, Miocic shows a good sense of the action inside the pocket, almost preternaturally pulling and returning his punches.
Whether Miocic is using his patent inside-parries or slick step-offs to the side, his battering ram of a right-hand is undoubtedly his hallmark. However, considering Cormier’s propensity to slip away from that side, I will be curious to see if Miocic adjusts his shot selections with either follow-up left hooks or a surprise switch-kick (as he seldom launches kicks above his waistline) from the left side.
Next point of interest: The clinch, and everything that comes with it
Point of interest: The clinch, and everything that comes with it
In their first fight, Cormier gave us an almost Randy Couture-like reminder when it comes to the importance of the clinch, as well as knowing your opponent in MMA.
Sure, the coach in Cormier may have been a bit too forthcoming with his game plan after their first affair, but Miocic will likely still have a lot more to deal with than his defensive habits off separations.
A former captain of the U.S. Olympic wrestling team, Cormier is at home whenever operating inside of the clinch. When he isn’t pulling down on heads to deliver uppercuts, the Olympic wrestler is usually reaching down for his favored snatch-single, a takedown that he chains into a high-crotch hike that either allows him to toss his opposition into the air, or snap them down in a motion that allows him to hit corners and take backs.
Mixing in slick trips while forcing his opponents to balance, Cormier almost feels like he’s teaching a kids class in the way in which he makes sure to touch all the bases step by step. The current champ also has good reactionary takedowns, something that could come in handy against an aggressive counterpart.
Thankfully for Miocic, he is still one of the better fighters (at least on paper) equipped to combat the champion’s style of attack.
Miocic came up wrestling in Ohio and eventually became a ranked NCAA Division 1 wrestler at Cleveland State. The American-born Croatian has shown to scramble well when pressured, but more often than not, Miocic is usually the one deciding the wrestling terms in his fights.
Like Cormier, Miocic also uses reactive double-legs or snatch-singles to combat pressuring opponents. Typically finishing his entries by snapping his opponents all the way down (almost like he’s hiking a football), Miocic shows a solid top game that he can go to should he choose to follow the action to the floor.
From Miocic’s shoulder pressure and short strikes from half guard to his relentless positional rides, Cormier could get caught in some ugly spots should he falter at all in this fight.
That said, Cormier, aside from his elite wrestling accolades, is also one of the most transitionally savvy grapplers north of 205 pounds. Even fellow Olympian Dan Henderson, the lighter (albeit older) man, had difficulty in keeping up with Cormier and was ultimately privy to a plethora of positional rides that were ruthless and wearing.
If Miocic allows Cormier to dictate any sort of flow early, then it could be dangerous for the big picture, as well as possibly cost him positions.
Although Miocic seems near-impossible to hold down, he does tend to turtle hard while scrambling back to his feet. Not only does turtling briefly give your back, but it also exposes your neck to front-headlock attacks – both of which are positions that Cormier is very competent from.
Ultimately, I believe that this constant juxtaposition of transitional threats and positional battles will make every scramble in this fight entertaining as it is important.
Next point of interest: Odds, opinion and prediction
Point of interest: Odds and opinions
The oddsmakers and public seem to be slightly siding with the sitting champ, listing Cormier -140 and Miocic +120 as of this writing.
Given what took place back at UFC 226, I’m not surprised to see a tighter line that favors Cormier this time around. And though I would argue that the current betting odds are still showing respect for Miocic (despite him technically being the underdog), I do warn anyone who is discounting the former champ’s chances here.
At this point of Miocic’s career, taking a year off is not exactly detrimental – particularly at heavyweight. The 36-year-old is also not short on motivation heading into Saturday, carrying an undeniable edge in that department.
Whereas Cormier, who is sitting even prettier one year later with all the successes he’s had (from title defenses to new contracts), finds himself tasked with “getting up” for a dangerous fighter that he already beat decisively. Nevertheless, as I stated in my initial breakdown of this fight, I still find myself stuck on a potential factor that could end up becoming part of the narrative.
Should neither man produce an early knockout this time around, then I don’t see either fighter taking or holding the other down easily.
For that reason, the better-conditioned man may start to take over midway through the fight. Miocic is a conditioned athlete who has proven he can fight tired, but Cormier, who can also do so, may still be the deceptively better-built man in regards to his grappling gas tank (especially at this weight class).
Anyone who has grappled can attest that it doesn’t necessarily take a bigger man to get you badly tired. In fact, if you’re forced to go with a smaller and faster partner for extended periods of time, you may find yourself falling behind in later rounds, even if you’re the more technically skilled person.
Now, obviously, this is an MMA fight between two of the highest-level fighters to ever grace the octagon, but those principles still loom large. If Miocic or Cormier fail to find the knockout within the first few rounds, then I suspect we see a competitive five-round affair that sees Cormier outworking Miocic down the stretch.
