At UFC 220, Cormier successfully defended the light heavyweight title with a second-round stoppage victory over Volkan Oezdemir in the co-main event. In the main event, Miocic halted Francis Ngannou’s dramatic rise, retaining his heavyweight title in the process.
Neither man had an obvious challenger in place, so pitting the two of them against each other made perfect sense.
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Cormier was undefeated at heavyweight before moving to light heavyweight, and he presented himself as a formidable test for Miocic, while the heavyweight champion had arguably put together the best resume of anyone in history. of the division, and seemed to have an athletic advantage over the undersized wrestler. .
After training against each other on Season 27 of The Ultimate Fighter, the two faced off in the main event of UFC 226, and at the end of the opening stanza, Cormier dropped Miocic with a short hook to become the second person to hold championship gold in two weight classes simultaneously.
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Cormier’s victory increased the volume of the rivalry between the two, with Miocic securing a rematch and measure of revenge at UFC 241 the following summer, setting up a trilogy bout between the two a year later. The Ohio native won the rubber game and the series, with Cormier hanging up the gloves after their third encounter.
It wasn’t the first time champions faced off or even the most memorable individual match of the group, but it was the only one that produced a lasting rivalry and multiple title fights.
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