Our MMANews Fantasy League is back after a small break! We have used this time to make the Fantasy League experience more interactive for those taking part. UFC 226 marks the return of our Fantasy League and we will have more exciting news to announce in the coming weeks. Before you make your MMANews Fantasy League picks, I will look into the main event of UFC 226 and give you my thoughts on this intriguing matchup.
UFC 226 takes place on the 7th July at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The event is headlined by a champion vs champion super fight, as UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic takes on UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. This fight will see Daniel Cormier move up to heavyweight in an attempt to put his name into the discussion for one of the greatest UFC fighters of all time. Stipe Miocic, who holds the record for the most heavyweight title defences, is seen by many as the greatest heavyweight of all time. He holds victories over some of the greatest to ever compete, such as Fabricio Werdum, Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos.
Daniel Cormier aims to join Conor McGregor as one of only two men to hold two UFC belts simultaneously. This will certainly put Cormier in the discussion as one of the greatest of all time and it will set him up for some exciting fights in the future if he decides to continue competing. This super fight has divided opinions with many believing that size will play a huge factor in this matchup. Some fans and MMA experts believe that Stipe Miocic will be too big for Daniel Cormier to handle, but former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen disagrees. He believes that Daniel Cormier will come in the heavier man, claiming that he will weight in just under 248lbs.
Although Miocic has an 8-inch reach advantage, Cormier has faced opposition with huge reach advantages before such as Alexander Gustafsson and Jon Jones. Cormier has dealt with being the smaller fighter all of his career and this height discrepancy enables Cormier to get under his opponents a lot easier, making it easier for him to get under hooks and gain control of his opponents. Daniel Cormier has competed at heavyweight 13 times and he is currently undefeated at this weight, winning the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix earlier in his MMA career. This is an incredibly difficult fight to predict, but I believe that Daniel Cormier’s superior wrestling skills will play a huge factor in this matchup. He has a proven track record of mauling bigger fighters in his time at heavyweight, Josh Barnett is a great example of this, but Stipe Miocic has serious one punch power and he can end the fight at any moment. I can see Daniel Cormier outworking Stipe Miocic and grinding out a decision victory, but this one is difficult to call. My prediction for this bout is Daniel Cormier via Unanimous Decision.
This event is packed with some amazing fights and it is certainly one that you will not want to miss!
Top Tip: This will be an event with a lot of finishes.
Good luck in your selections and stay tuned to MMANews.com for Fantasy League results.
If you need to know any details about the league, check out our sign up article here: http://www.mmanews.com/mmanews-fantasy-league/
