Daniel Cormier didn’t win very many fans, but more importantly, he won the fight.
AKA’s Daniel Cormier defeated Anderson Silva via unanimous decision in a light heavyweight match at UFC 200 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday. All three judges scored the bout 30-26 for Cormier. CSNBayArea.com scored the fight 30-27, also for Cormier.
Cormier, 37, was originally scheduled to defend his UFC light heavyweight championship against Jon Jones in the main event, but Jones was pulled from the fight on Wednesday after testing positive for a banned substance. Silva, 41, the former UFC middleweight champion who holds the UFC record for most consecutive title defenses with 10, was named as Cormier’s replacement on Thursday, two days before the fight.
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“I've been training for a specific fight for eight weeks,” Cormier, (18-1) said almost apologetically in The Octagon following the fight. “I did what I had to do. It's very difficult to switch opponents.”
Cormier dominated the match from nearly bell-to-bell. The former Olympic wrestler used takedowns and ground-and-pound to negate Silva’s world-class striking.
“I have to fight Anderson Silva. I was a little nervous, he's so good.” Cormier said of Silva (33-8, 1 NC) after the fight. “That guy’s the greatest fighter we’ve ever seen in The Octagon. I can’t complain.”
Although it was a successful game plan, the style of the fight did not endear the 205-pound champ to the Las Vegas crowd as they booed at various times of the match.
“I was sad. I worked hard to fight Jones. I've tried to erase that loss,” Cormier said. “Most guys would not take this fight. They wouldn't do it. I thought I needed to. Mentally it was draining. Everything was tough.”
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Former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez told CSNBayArea.com last week at AKA gym in San Jose that when he’s healthy, he’s the best heavyweight in the UFC.
That certainly might be the truth.
Returning to The Octagon for the first time since losing the title over a year ago, the 2nd-ranked UFC heavyweight defeated 7th-ranked Travis Browne via TKO at 4:57 of the 1st round.
“It just feels good to come back and fight in front of everyone and get a win,” Velasquez (14-2) said in a post-fight interview. “I’m always looking for perfection. My timing was off a little bit. That's something that's going to be coming with more fights obviously.”
Browne, 33, landed a clean right in the first 15 seconds of the round, but that was all the Hawaiian fighter was able to muster offensively. Velasquez, 33, used his trademark pace and pressure, as well as some unorthodox striking to batter Browne throughout the fight.
Velasquez threw two uncharacteristic wheel kicks, the first setting up a right hand that floored Browne (18-4-1), which ended up being the turning point of the fight.
In the final minute of the round, Browne gave up his back and turtled up as Velasquez landed ground-and-pound, calling for the referee to stop the fight. The victory is Velasquez’s 10th career knockout in UFC history, tying him for third all-time.
“I want to fight for the title obviously,” Velasquez answered when questioned about his future. “Whoever the UFC wants me to fight, obviously I'll do it, but I want to fight the best guys."