On August 16, the third chapter of arguably one of the best MMA rivalries in recent memory will finally happen. Stipe Miocic will defend his Heavyweight title for the second time against Daniel Cormier in a match that will not only crown the new Heavyweight champion but arguably the Greatest Heavyweight champion in UFC history. It’s going to be a crazy close fight, with the odds being close for Cormier (1.79) and Miocic (1.9).

Before the two legendary fighters met, Miocic and Cormier had one common trait: They made racking up wins look EASY.

Miocic was 18-2 before his first encounter with DC. He has established himself as one of the best Heavyweight fighters in the UFC by beating the likes of Roy Nelson (UD), Mark Hunt (TKO), Andrei Arlovski (TKO), Fabricio Werdum (KO), Alistair Overeem (KO), Junior Dos Santos (TKO) and Francis Ngannou (UD).

Miocic won his first Heavyweight title back in UFC 198 against Werdum. He went on to defend his title successfully three times against the some of the baddest fighters in the division like Overeem, Dos Santos and Ngannou before he lost his first bout with Cormier.

Cormier, on the other hand, was more dominant leading up to his first fight against Miocic. Unlike his rival, DC spent most of his time in the Light Heavyweight division where he only lost once (officially) against the legendary Jon Jones.

Cormier won 19 fights in his career before meeting Miocic. He took out some of the toughest fighters in the Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight divisions like Dan Henderson (Submission), Anthony Johnson (twice with both wins via submission), Alexander Gustafsson (Split Decision), Anderson Silva (Unanimous Division) and Volkan Oezdemir (TKO).

The only asterisk in DC’s career for me is the fact that he lost twice against Jones during his stint in the Light Heavyweight division. The first official loss he had was back in UFC 182 where Jones won via Unanimous Decision. The second one was on their rematch at UFC 214 where Jones won via KO but was overturned no contest by the California State Athletic Commission after Jones tested positive Oral Turinabol, an anabolic steroid. However, Jones is the greatest fighter to ever step into the octagon, so there’s no shame in losing to him.

Despite, the whole issue with Jones, Cormier continued to showcase dominance in his career by winning the vacated Light Heavyweight title against Johnson in their first fight, successfully defending it three consecutive times before “losing” to Jones in their rematch, which was overturned. Then after being crowned the champ again, he defended it against Oezdemir in UFC 220.

That would be DC’s last fight as a Light Heavyweight. After that fight, he set his eyes on the then Heavyweight Champion, Miocic.

The two first clashed in UFC 226, where Cormier caught Miocic with a short right hook and gave allowed him to finish him in the first round to become the second fighter in UFC history to become a two-division champion.

Miocic obviously did not like the result of their first fight and in their rematch, it was him who shocked Cormier with a big body shot in the latter part of the fourth round, Miocic followed it up with a one-two combo which caused DC to stumble in to the cage and allowed Miocic to finish him and regain his title once again.

Now, on Sunday morning, the trilogy will finally be complete as both men will meet in the octagon for the final time. Both men have already scored a knockdown on the other. Both men have already built their resume for the title of the Heavyweight GOAT, with Cormier also being a two-division champ and Miocic beating the best fighters the division has to offer.

Miocic has proven himself to be a dominant champion, while Cormier has also beaten just about everyone. This is the last win that the both men need to solidify their legacies.

I personally, have my money on Miocic. But I’ll be expecting a fight that will be remembered as the greatest Heavyweight bout in UFC history.

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