Alexander Gustafsson believes the peak version of Daniel Cormier is at heavyweight.
Cormier captured the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight title at UFC 226. He knocked out Stipe Miocic in the first round to become a two-division champion. “DC” was already the light heavyweight title holder.
Gustafsson and Cormier have certainly had their differences. Gustafsson has ripped Cormier for not taking a rematch against him. “The Mauler” is also calling for an interim UFC light heavyweight title bout.
Despite this, Gustafsson is giving credit where it’s due. During a recent appearance on MMAFighting.com‘s “The MMA Hour,” Gustafsson told Luke Thomas that “DC” was impressive at UFC 226 and is best served as a heavyweight:
“I didn’t really have a prediction for that fight because I know it’s a very tough fight to predict, but I had a feeling [that ‘DC’ would win]. ‘DC’ is tough and he’s such a good athlete. I think he’s better at heavyweight than he is at light heavyweight. I think he’s stronger, he can eat and he doesn’t have to stress about the weight. I think he’ll do even better as a heavyweight. I had a feeling he’d win the fight, but just the way he finished [the fight] — it’s probably the wrong thing to say, but he made it look easy.”
Gustafsson is set for a clash against Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 227 on Aug. 4. The bout will take place inside Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Meanwhile, Cormier is gearing up for a “super fight” against Brock Lesnar. No official date has been set, but Lesnar recently reentered the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) testing pool and will be eligible to compete in Jan. 2019. Cormier has expressed interest in defending his light heavyweight title before meeting Lesnar.
Do you think the best version of Daniel Cormier is at heavyweight?
