Daniel Cormier will be fighting as a heavyweight for the first time in almost five years when he enters the octagon on Saturday to battle Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title as a +200 underdog on the UFC 226 odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The 39-year-old has fought in the 205-pound weight class in each of his past nine outings, twice claiming the UFC light heavyweight title, and will be aiming to become the first UFC fighter since Conor McGregor to simultaneously hold multiple championship belts with a win in Saturday night’s matchup at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Apart from a pair of losses to his arch-nemesis Jon Jones, including a third-round KO loss at UFC 214 that was later overturned and ruled a no-contest, “DC” has dominated the light heavyweight division, finishing opponents in five of his seven victories including a second-round TKO of Volkan Oezdemir as -350 chalk at UFC 220.
Cormier was also untouchable while fighting as a heavyweight early in his career, going 13-0-0 including five unanimous decision wins.
Miocic looks to tally a record fourth successful defence of the UFC heavyweight crown when he faces off against Cormier as a -215 favourite. The hard-punching Ohio native has claimed KO or TKO victories on five occasions during his current six-fight win streak, including four straight first-round knockouts that earned him performance bonuses, and owns an impressive 18-2-0 professional MMA record.
However, the 35-year-old needed a nod from the judges to pick up the unanimous decision win over Francis Ngannou as a +155 underdog in their clash at UFC 220, marking only the second time he has gone a full five rounds over his eight-year pro career.
In other UFC 226 action on Saturday, Ngannou will look to get back into the win column when he takes on Derrick Lewis in the co-main event of the evening as a massive -330 favourite.
Ngannou’s loss to Miocic as a -180 favourite marked his first defeat in 10 fights, and also put the brakes on a string of four straight first-round knockout victories.
Lewis returns to action after scoring an impressive third-round TKO victory over Marcin Tybura at UFC Fight Night 126. “The Black Beast” has claimed the win in seven of his past eight outings, including six victories by KO or TKO.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Paul “The Irish Dragon” Felder aims for a third straight KO victory in his welterweight clash with Mike Perry as -145 chalk, while lightweight Michael Chiesa battles Anthony “Showtime” Pettis as a -150 favourite.
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