5 nightmare HW match-ups for Daniel Cormier (past & present)

Claude

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In no particular order:

1-Antonio Nogueira circa 2001-2005

An elite bjj fighter with an iron chin, decent boxing and insane cardio? Well that sounds scary. People used to say Nogueira didn’t lose fights, he just ran out of time, and for a good reason.

Good luck at trying to GnP Nog’s iron chin and not getting subbed in the process. No doubt DC could take Nog down but he would pretty much be playing in a mousetrap the whole time. Some of his habits on the ground such as resting his extended arms on top of his opponents’ torso or leaving one arm in while in guard could easily get him subbed (more on that later).

Fedor was shaking off triangles and kimuras all the time while on Nogueira''s guard. Cormier simply doesn't have the awareness nor technique do do that.

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DC’s best bet would probably be to sprawl and brawl (kinda like Fedor did in their 3rd fight), however Nogueira, while not heavy handed, had pretty decent boxing (outstruck guys like Kharitonov), while Cormier’s striking is pretty basic; he's flat footed and has a sloppy defense, albeit a hard hitter. Nog would be mixing both strikes and TD's which could led to more openings.

Cardio would no doubt be a key factor. DC doesn’t have great cardio (gassed in 2 rounds vs. Jones, gassed in a 3 round fight vs. Anderson Silva) while Nogueira had amazing cardio and could wear DC down.

Fedor trying to finish a Terminator:

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2-Mirko Crocop circa 2003-2006

An elite striker with killer takedown defense? Sounds like a wrestler’s worst nightmare. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Mirko would have been the worst possible match-up for DC in the history of the sport.

Forget about the head kicks (which DC loves eating). Cormier’s poor defense and ability to take body shots is about the worst weakness you can have against Crocop. It’s not like Cormier just got caught once or twice, he’s actually not good at defending body shots at all.

Seriously, when an old and out of prime Anderson Silva can make scream from pain with a left body kick, you should thank the universe you never had to fight a prime Mirko Crocop.

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Somebody please tell Cormier how to defend body kicks:

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I forgot the sport has evolved so much, fighters now don’t defend body kicks, they just take them like men.

Now DC has heavy hands and could catch Mirko ala Kevin Randleman, but honestly chances would be very slim. DC isn’t nearly as fast or explosive as Kevin was. He's slower and more flat footed, which makes him an easier target for strikes. Getting his head or liver kicked into oblivion seems a lot more likely.

3-Ubereem / Econoreem

Do I really need to explain anything here?

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Reem has the TD defense and his striking is miles above DC's. Sure Overeem’s chin can always betray him, but DC getting kneed and body kicked to oblivion seems a lot more likely.

4-Fabricio Werdum

The man who subbed Fedor, Cain and KO’d Mark Hunt. Nuff said.

With that world class bjj, Werdum’s guard is pretty much the last place on earth Cormier should want to be. To make it worse, the dude is also a very capable striker:

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Standing or on the ground, Cormier has no place to hide.

5- Fedor Emelianenko circa 2003-2006

We all know DC is a black prime Fedor

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but with inferior striking, speed, reflexes, timing, elusiveness, agressivenes, pace, transitions, chin, cardio, sweeps, subs, sub defense,"heart", and the list goes on. Who the hell named DC black Fedor?

The stand-up isn't even close. Fedor fought and outstruck several elite strikers. Considering all of the above, DC having his way with Fedor in the stand-up is simply wishful thinking. He would most likely get overwhelmed, hurt and dropped.

Now DC could take Fedor down (or slam him on his head, doesn't matter). The problem is, DC tends to leave himself opened for subs when on top.

Leaving his arms like this for instance could get him armbarred quickly:

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One arm in next to his opponent's head.

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This was 2 seconds before Coleman got armbarred:

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Cormier's arm doesn't even need to be that deep. This is Fedor's armbar starting position:

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Now you might say DC has better sub defense than Coleman (does he?), but that's irrelevant. If he leaves his arms like that he gets armbarred just like him.

Standing or on the ground Fedor was simply just too much for DC to handle. He had a lot more weapons at his disposal. DC's best bet would be to LnP Fedor and avoid the subs/sweeps, but given his habits on the ground that's simply not likely.

Honorable mention: Stipe Miocic. He has the size, reach, leverage and striking, but unlike the fighters above, he's unproven against elite wrestlers. His strengths seem to match-up well with DC's weaknesses, but it's unknown whether he can sprawl and brawl properly, or like many other strikers vs. wrestler fights, he's going to worry too much about TD's and get careless in the stand-up.

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Bottom line:

There's no denying Daniel Comier proved himself to be a top heavyweight, defeating top fighters like Antonio Silva and Josh Barnett to win the Strikeforce Grand Prix. That being said, he never really fought the best HW's in the world at the time (Overeem, Werdum, Cain, JDS).

Some people even think Cormier was too good for the HW division, but I think the reason he has been doing so well is in fact that he’s NOT fighting at HW; not getting punched, kneed and body kicked by some of the guys mentioned above and others.

Hopefuly he'll move up again soon.
 
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Diehard Fedor nuthugger.
 
Cormier vs Shogun before the knee injuries would have been a great fight too
 
Cormier could fried chicken his way up to 240 and beat those guys.

I agree the heavyweight division hasn't really improved.
 
Best DC imho likely lose to Fedor, Cain, CroCop

Also Shane Carwin will be an ugly MU for him

And have hard but winnable fights with these you listed+JDS

Aside Nog, tbh i just see him beat up Nog into UD
 
I think the odds for DC aren't too bad against Prime Cro Cop and Overeem. In fact I'd put money on DC to put Alisatir's lights out.
 
I think DC is fighting in the best division he possibly can be right now. Even at LHW he still looks soft, and frankly, there's way more risks in him fighting at HW. It's a shame he didn't take up MMA earlier and focus more on his diet and cardio. I've long thought that with discipline, he could've been a very big, strong dominant MW.

When he joined the UFC, he could've been a big fish in a small pond, or a small fish in a big pond... and he definitely made the right choice opting to fight at LHW. The fighters at HW do seem to be more inconsistent, but they kick and hit hard, and Cormier would definitely be giving up size, strength and reach advantages there.
 
? dc wipes any of them out with ease and i am not even a dc fan.

Big nog would spend the entire fight on his back eating shots or dc could keep it standing and outbox him. big nog had almost no takedowns and zero tdd

Crocrop would spend the fight on his back eating shots

Overeem would spend the fight on his back, add in a glass chin and terrible cardio...

Werdum is a tougher matchup but again cormiers wrestling ensures he keeps the fight where he wants it. cain and cormier are very different fighters


Fedor? really? fedor in his prime had better standup but he would be on his back eating shots just like rumble did. dc's superior cardio and insane top control ftw


Dc gets far too little credit for how good he really is (and he is one of my least favorite fighters).
 
Cormier has that always win mentality. Like when he is in trouble he pretty much always ends up winning except vs Jones. Him being smart in there might actually be his best weapon. Hard to say if anyone of those beat him since he always adapts his style for different opponents.
 
lol at Nog having any chance. Ever. Let it go.
 
? dc wipes any of them out with ease and i am not even a dc fan.

Big nog would spend the entire fight on his back eating shots or dc could keep it standing and outbox him. big nog had almost no takedowns and zero tdd

Crocrop would spend the fight on his back eating shots

Overeem would spend the fight on his back, add in a glass chin and terrible cardio...

Werdum is a tougher matchup but again cormiers wrestling ensures he keeps the fight where he wants it. cain and cormier are very different fighters


Fedor? really? fedor in his prime had better standup but he would be on his back eating shots just like rumble did. dc's superior cardio and insane top control ftw


Dc gets far too little credit for how good he really is (and he is one of my least favorite fighters).

He would suffocate these guys on the ground and actually has some sub defense. He's a favorite against them all. This isn't Mark Coleman or Randleman who are clueless about subs.
 
He loses to Fedor and probably loses to Cro Cop. However, he more than likely beats everyone else.
 
in a ring I ahve no doubt that Mirko fucking wrecks him like he did with pretty much every single wrestler in Pride. DC would demolish any version of reem and cain. You just cannot ever count out Werdum because of his jits and Prime nog had the chin and will likeno other and he could catch dc like he did with sapp and Mirko. Prime Fedor vs Dc would be amazing. I would favor fedor because back then he knew what to do in the clinch and regardlessof dcs pedigree he was going to lose his balance or at worst get compeltely put off his game. Fedor by TKO.
 
in a ring I ahve no doubt that Mirko fucking wrecks him like he did with pretty much every single wrestler in Pride. DC would demolish any version of reem and cain. You just cannot ever count out Werdum because of his jits and Prime nog had the chin and will likeno other and he could catch dc like he did with sapp and Mirko. Prime Fedor vs Dc would be amazing. I would favor fedor because back then he knew what to do in the clinch and regardlessof dcs pedigree he was going to lose his balance or at worst get compeltely put off his game. Fedor by TKO.

Fedor was put in bad positions by Coleman and Randleman. He isn't surviving in those positions against Cormier. Cormier isn't cluelessly getting subbed either.
 
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? dc wipes any of them out with ease and i am not even a dc fan.

Big nog would spend the entire fight on his back eating shots or dc could keep it standing and outbox him. big nog had almost no takedowns and zero tdd

Crocrop would spend the fight on his back eating shots

Overeem would spend the fight on his back, add in a glass chin and terrible cardio...

Werdum is a tougher matchup but again cormiers wrestling ensures he keeps the fight where he wants it. cain and cormier are very different fighters


Fedor? really? fedor in his prime had better standup but he would be on his back eating shots just like rumble did. dc's superior cardio and insane top control ftw


Dc gets far too little credit for how good he really is (and he is one of my least favorite fighters).
 
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