Only one fighter can match Daniel Cormier if he is able to pick up the UFC heavyweight belt from Stipe Miocic on Saturday night at UFC 252, according to promotion president Dana White.
‘He would be neck and neck for the biggest outing with [Georges] St-Pierre, ”White said Wednesday during a live-streamed interview with Yahoo! Sport Kevin Iole. “I mean, GSP walked away with the title, then came back, won the 185-pound title, and then walked away again.”
Cormier has said that his trilogy with Miocic will be the final battle of his illustrious career. The former two-time division champion intends to make his second win of the UFC heavyweight title his swan lead, although White and Cormier’s team believe he could continue to compete at a high level.
If this is it for Cormier, White said it’s a hell of a way to go out.
“The wonderful thing about this is, it’s probably the best trilogy we’ve ever had in the UFC, and it’s for the heavyweight championship, and to determine who the GOAT is,” White said.
St-Pierre’s comeback in 2017 was well received by White, but the subsequent retirement of the once dominant welterweight was not a bright spot. After UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov tried to make a fight with St-Pierre, White knew of the idea, saying that the former champion ‘bailed’ on a promise to defend the middleweight belt he won from Michael Bisping. Recently, however, White has changed his tune about watching Nurmagomedov vs. St-Pierre.
White has not figured out what he wants to do with the heavyweight division if Cormier wins and then lowers the belt. Asked about a potential fight between one-time title contender Francis Ngannou and current lightweight heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones, the UFC operator was hesitant to outline plans.
“That’s a lot like,” White said. “We’ll see what happens.”
White asks fewer questions about what happens to the heavyweight division and more about how a classic rivalry will play out.
“Normally I can tell you what I expect from a fight,” he said. “I do not know what to expect here. I expect these guys to come out starting to knock like they did in the first two fights. Where it’s coming from, I have no idea. ”
