UFC 252: Is Stipe Miocic-Daniel Cormier Really For Title Of G.O.A.T.?

The UFC loves to throw around words to build events into even bigger spectacles. And UFC 252 is no different.

With Stipe Miocic defending his heavyweight title against Daniel Cormier in the third meeting between the two, the promotion has billed it as the battle to determine the greatest heavyweight of all-time.

And honestly, they are right.

UFC 252 takes place this Saturday night live from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on both ESPN and UFC Fight Pass.

While it is always difficult to compare fighters from one generation to the other, Miocic and Cormier are a different breed.

Brock Lesnar, Randy Couture, Frank Mir, Junior dos Santos, Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum come to mind when you are talking about the heavyweight division in the UFC. 

And all can make pretty strong arguments for their case. 

But Miocic and Cormier are just different.

Making The Case For Stipe Miocic

Miocic won his first UFC title in 2016 when he stunned Werdum. The former college athlete went all the way to Brazil to upset the reigning champion on his home soil.

That reign lasted 785 days and set a record for title defenses. While holding the belt, Miocic bested Alistair Overeem, dos Santos and Francis Ngannou. 

In doing that, he became the first heavyweight in the UFC to defend the title three times. While that might not sound like a lot, considering it had never happened before definitely gives Miocic a big leg up.

And look at who he defeated.

First there was Werdum, who himself holds a pretty high standard in the division. He even did it on foreign soil. 

Overeem is regarded as one of the best strikers ever in the division, dos Santos a former champion and Ngannou a scary, scary dude. 

In 2018, Cormier bested Miocic in a thriller. Almost a year later, he began his second run by besting Cormier.

This will mark the first defense of his reign for Miocic. With a second win over Cormier – and fourth title defense combined – he will become the greatest UFC heavyweight of all-time.

Making The Case For Daniel Cormier

It is pretty easy to point at Cormier and be impressed.

He held both the UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight titles at the same time. Cormier won the heavyweight belt with a finish of Miocic in 2018.

His run would last for 407 days and include a defense over Derrick Lewis. 

Cormier is a former Olympic wrestler and won the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. He owns wins over Anderson Silva, Alexander Gustafsson, Anthony Johnson (twice), Dan Henderson, Mir, Josh Barnett. 

The list goes on and one.

Cormier has claimed this will be his retirement fight, and there would be no better way to go out than with a win over Miocic to cement his standing as the greatest UFC heavyweight of all-time.