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

[henag]

Lmao . Stop living in the past. Werdum would be tough I agree and probably Overeem aswell. But rest of your list? No way.

 

[jrleclerc88]

Since he never lost a single round at heavyweight we don't know?

 

[ThunderStruck]

So 5x hHW? Cormier is a LHW.

 

[Mga223]

Notice how the people saying Cormier would win have no actual arguments. They just say."DC would win", lol

Style makes fights guys. These are all nightmare match-ups for Cormier. Guys who could neutralize his strengths and exploit his weaknesses.

Cormier takes down nog and beats him up quite easily.
Mirko is the most overrated fighter in the world, he was koed by lesser fighters most of his career.
Werdum would probably put up a fight but his Cormier would out strike him pretty easily.
Fedor wouldn't be able to deal with the smothering.

I forgot the 5th person lmao.

Obviously is never a certainty but if they fought 10 times I'd give Cormier 8/10.

This guys a freak and his only loss is too juiced up jones.

 

[1SikSix]

DC wrecks all of them and I say that as a huge Fedor fan.
The top 3 at LHW (Jones, DC, Rumble) is better than everyone at HW, ever.

 

[newcastleman]

I agree with the TS's list. All bad matches for DC. But DC would be competitive with them I'd guess.

 

[Claude]

You really are an idiot if you think it is anywhere close to as careless as Coleman's. I can find pictures of GSP putting his arms in "dangerous positions" to. Doesn't mean he doesn't have amazing sub D

It's not about finding one picture, it's about HABIT. DC has bad habits while on top which are similar to Mark Coleman's. I'm not lying. Go watch Cormier's fights. He rests his arms across his opponents torso all the time. He leaves one arm in on arm out, etc.

You think Cormier is better because he hasn't been caught yet, but the openings are there. If he does that vs. a guy who has good armbars from the bottom or triangles he's getting caught.

 

[Claude]

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Jon jones is the only man that beats prime DC. DC mauls your list with ease. DC destroyed Bigfoot who just beat the hell out of fedor.

Lmao . Stop living in the past. Werdum would be tough I agree and probably Overeem aswell. But rest of your list? No way.

So many newbies here, lol

 

[BigGing]

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).

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, while Cormier’s striking is pretty basic albeit heavy handed.

Cardio would no doubt be a key factor. DC doesn’t have great cardio, while Nogueira had amazing cardio.

Fedor trying to finish a Terminator:

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. 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 body kick, you should thank the universe you never had to fight a prime Mirko Crocop.

Somebody please tell Cormier how to defend body kicks:

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?

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:

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



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 called 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:

One arm in next to his opponent's head.

This was 2 seconds before Coleman got armbarred:

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

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

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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.

CRO Cop immediately came to mind. The ways DC has reacted to body kicks in the past makes me believe he has some type of issue, or just a wonky liver. I'd predict A kick from Mirko would make him turtle

 

[Claude]

Since he never lost a single round at heavyweight we don't know?

He never fought the best HW's though.

 

[Claude]

Cormier takes down nog and beats him up quite easily.
Mirko is the most overrated fighter in the world, he was koed by lesser fighters most of his career.
Werdum would probably put up a fight but his Cormier would out strike him pretty easily.
Fedor wouldn't be able to deal with the smothering.

I forgot the 5th person lmao.

Obviously is never a certainty but if they fought 10 times I'd give Cormier 8/10.

This guys a freak and his only loss is too juiced up jones.

Cormier doesn't have the top game to avoid subs from Nog/Fedor while on top. Too many bad habits, too sloppy.

When Fedor fought Nog he was shaking of triangles and kimuras all the time. Cormier on the other hand loves resting his extended arms on his opponents torso, leaves one arm in one arm out, etc. He does that all the time.

Mirko circa 2003-2006 only got KO'd by Randleman, who's far quicker and more explosive than Cormier. DC is slower and flat footed, that's why he eats punches and gets hurt by body shots often.

Werdum has better striking than Cormier. He has pretty decent MT. Gave Overeem a run for his money, outstruck Cain who's arguably a better striker than Cormier, KO'd Hunt with a knee and we all know Cormier loves eating knees.

Cheers.

 

[Claude]

CRO Cop immediately came to mind. The ways DC has reacted to body kicks in the past makes me believe he has some type of issue, or just a wonky liver. I'd predict A kick from Mirko would make him turtle

Agreed.

2003-2006 Crocop is an absolutely nightmare match-up for Cormier. One body kick and it's over.

 

[BigGing]

Agreed.

2003-2006 Crocop is an absolutely nightmare match-up for Cormier. Only body kick and it's over.

That CRO Cop is a nightmare match up for any heavyweight haha. Well I guess not Fedor...

 

[Claude]

The top 3 at LHW (Jones, DC, Rumble) is better than everyone at HW, ever.

Of course and we know this because Cormier and Rumble proved themselves against the best HW's and Jones isn't terrified to move up.

lol

 

[Deleted member 110072]

That CRO Cop is a nightmare match up for any heavyweight haha. Well I guess not Fedor...

I would say he seems like a bad one for Cormier especially though who has looked vulnerable to bodykicks vs Anderson and Mir plus even if Cormier gets it down I'm not sure I see him doing much but holding Mirko(who's defencive guard is vastl better than Rumble who has folded almost every time on his back) down for the rest of the round or in Pride until a standup.

Generally though I don't think HW of a decade ago would be a good spot for Cormier as your dealing with a lot of younger faster men. Perhaps Overeem isn't too far off that today although he does obviously still have his chin so I wouldn't full Cormier out there.

 

[Tavares1988]

Agreed ts

 

[BlastoiseDad]

Prime Cormier gives anyone in the sport a tough fight imo.

Very durable, powerful and varied striking, strong with elite wrestling, and holds a speed advantage at HW for sure. One of my favorite fighters.

 

[Deleted member 110072]

Really the big unknown in a lot of these is how Cormier deals with someone with elite submissions off of there backs like Werdum, Nog or Fedor, thus far that part of his game is relatively untested and looks like it might never be with the current elite LHWs.

 

[MescalineDreams]

As I said before he only out struck JDS because of the wrestling aspect of a MMA fight. Cormier can do the same thing.

Yeah, no.

That played a factor. For sure.

Cain at his best just Is a better boxer than JDS though. DC's striking isn't bad but It's not on the same level.

whether that version of Cain shows up Is another matter.

 

[MescalineDreams]

Agreed.

2003-2006 Crocop is an absolutely nightmare match-up for Cormier. One body kick and it's over.

Well I think Crocop gets taken down easier In a cage against a guy like cormier than a ring.


But yes, he would present a challenge.