Louisiana’s Daniel Cormier Defends His UFC Title This Weekend
Its going to be a HUGE weekend for sports in Louisiana. Not only do you have LSU v Alabama this weekend. Not only do you have the Saints vs Rams. But, Lafayette Louisiana native and reigning UFC Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier will be in action this weekend. Cormier will be defending his title against Derrick Lewis at UFC 230 Saturday night.
Cormier fought most of his career in the light heavyweight division but recently jumped up to the heavyweight division and earned the title of "Baddest Man on the Planet" after beating Stipe Miocic.
Cormier may be the most underrated fighter in MMA. He's only the second man to hold two belts in different divisions at the same time (Conor McGregor is the other) and is one of five fighters to hold two belts in different divisions overall. Plus, his record is pretty stellar with 21 wins, 1 loss and 1 no contest.
I'm not sure why...but historically speaking, Louisiana sports teams and stars get no love. LSU, despite being number 3 in the country, are 14.5 point underdogs against Alabama. The Saints are REALLY good this year, but everyone just sort of expects the Rams to steam roll them.
And then we get to Daniel Cormier. Even with his stellar track record, history making performances and PPV buys, he's widely regarded as a good fighter but not a great fighter. He's going into the weekend as a favorite..but just barely. And a lot of pre-fight interviews have revolved around what his reaction will be if he loses. It's crazy! He's one of the greatest light heavy/heavyweight fighters in the world, yet the MMA world shows him little to no respect.
But, I guess that's just all part of being from the Boot. We're underestimated and under appreciated...but at the end of the day, we usually make the "experts" eat their words.