The term “super fight” was born in bizarre circumstances in 1969 when Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali went head-to-head in a fictional boxing match, to determine who truly was considered to be the greatest heavyweight of all time.
A bizarre concept was born with this being a “computer bout”, with both boxers filmed acting out every possible scenario in a fight, before probability formulas based on prior statistics decided the winner… bizarre right!?
Fast forward nearly fifty years, and we’ve gone away from computer bouts (the concept never really took on), but the term superfight is thrown around constantly to describe any bout between two highly-rated fighters.
When the UFC announced that Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier would collide in Las Vegas this summer, the term was rightly attached to this fight, with Cormier holding the light heavyweight crown and Miocic the undisputed king at heavyweight. Superfights are rare occasions when two elite fighters (preferably champions) clash in a once-in-a-lifetime bout.
Stipe Miocic continued his reign as heavyweight champion by dominating highly-rated and highly-promoted prospect Francis N’Gannou in January at UFC 220. Not only did he retain his crown, but he became the first heavyweight to defend the title on three occasions.
He has not only defeated, but decimated every contender that the heavyweight division has to offer, leaving no real standout to challenge Miocic’s reign. Another man who lacks a contender is Daniel Cormier.
Regardless of whether you back Jon Jones, you cannot deny that Daniel Cormier is one of the greatest to ever do it. Whilst Jones is the greatest talent ever seen in mixed martial arts, Cormier has hardly come close to losing outside of the Jones’ affairs.
Alexander Gustafsson is the only man to have come remotely close, and close wasn’t enough. The Swede had a six-inch height advantage and a seven-inch reach advantage, but Cormier’s relentless pressure and immense work rate just continued to grind for twenty-five minutes.
Let’s not forget Cormier’s prior run at heavyweight. There’s no doubt he would’ve arguably claimed the title earlier in his career if he didn’t stand aside for his teammate Cain Velasquez.
He joined the UFC after clinching the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, and defeated heavyweight great Frank Mir in his opening bout, before breezing through Roy Nelson. At this point he was possibly two fights away from a title shot.
A loss to Jon Jones at UFC 182 marked the end of Cormier’s unbeaten run as a mixed martial artist, but Jones’ out-of-octagon antics had led to DC clinching the light heavyweight crown just four months later, submitting Anthony Johnson.
Cormier’s victory over Volkan Oezdemir shown the distance between him and the remaining challengers in the division. With less than a year left until retirement beckons, there was only one challenge (aside from the Jones trilogy) that could propel Cormier into “the discussion”.
There’s no doubt in terms of reach and height that Stipe Miocic has a clear advantage, with an eight-inch reach in his favour. Miocic’s style doesn’t utilise his reach, but his takedown defense will be something that Cormier will hope to breach, considering Miocic has only been taken down three times in his fourteen fights in the UFC.
Miocic has never faced a wrestler of Cormier’s magnitude, and DC will be expected to take the heavyweight champion down at some point in the fight. Can Cormier take Miocic’s power? Not many heavyweights have been able to live with it so far!?
In terms of predicting the outcome (alike to the original super fight), you wouldn’t be shocked if Stipe Miocic put Cormier away inside the opening rounds, but you wouldn’t be surprised if Cormier took the fight to the duration and took a decision.
The original super fight was decided by computers… this will be decided by two men being locked in an octagon for a maximum of twenty-five minutes. We can’t wait!
Stay tuned to The Sportsman on Instagram and Facebook as we’ll be on the ground in Las Vegas!
