Daniel Cormier usually has to cut down to 205 pounds for his fights in the UFC – but not this past weekend (Sat. July 7, 2018).
“DC” fought at heavyweight against the all consensus greatest UFC heavyweight champion of all time in Stipe Miocic. Cormier was able to take some attention away from the weight cutting aspect of mixed martial arts (MMA) and focus more technically in camp for Miocic. It paid off.
Cormier picked up a first round knockout win over the Cleveland native and became the second dual-weight champion in UFC history. In a recent interview on The MMA Hour with Luke Thomas, Cormier detailed how impactful not having to worry about weight cutting was in the fight (via MMA Fighting):
“I felt like I was faster,” Cormier said, “because at 205, I think my speed, it doesn’t jump out at you as much because all of these guys that I fight are pretty fast. So I think I felt faster, I think I felt faster at heavyweight, and then just not having to do that weight cut, it makes such a big deal, man. That weight cut can really, really — it can really brutalize you.
“[Without the weight cut] I was so excited, man,” Cormier added. “I was in the back trying to contain myself. Like, how do I stay the course and not put myself in the fight too early, because without having to worry about the weight management, now I have all this time to think about the fight, and I do a lot of visualization and stuff.
“So it’s like, when I visualize, I’m like, ‘Wow, I could go and just fight right now. I don’t have to cut any weight. How do I monitor myself and manage my energy in regards to the fight?’ I can’t get too excited, so I was really trying to peel myself back a lot. I was trying to peel myself back a lot when it came to thinking about the fight.”
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