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Over the years, a long list of dangerous men have held the UFC Heavyweight Championship. The title of "The Baddest Man On The Planet" most certainly belongs to the Heavyweight kingpin, and given that the sport of Mixed Martial Arts is likely the closest one could get to no-holds-barred one-on-one combat in a sport setting, the top Heavyweight in MMA is regarded as the most dangerous unarmed fighter in the world.
The title of "The Baddest Man On The Planet" presently belongs to a person many refer to as "The Daddest Man On The Planet", everyone's favorite UFC analyst, the reigning UFC Light-Heavyweight and Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier.
However, "DC" has time and again stated that he does indeed plan on retiring from professional MMA competition before his 40th birthday, which would be March 20th, 2019. If one is to believe the rumblings in the combat sports rumor mill, Cormier is likely to face Brock Lesnar in January of 2019, and then fight Jon Jones in the month of March, before retiring.
Today, we take a special look at which fighters from the current UFC Heavyweight roster are the likeliest to defeat Daniel Cormier and become the new UFC Heavyweight Champion, in the days to come...
#5 Stipe Miocic
Well, no surprises here! Stipe Miocic headed into his UFC 226 fight against Daniel Cormier as the favorite, and most experts expected him to successfully defend the UFC Heavyweight Title for a record 4th consecutive time. Regardless, Cormier shockingly knocked out Miocic in the very first round of their encounter.
But with that being said, it's easy to overlook just how dangerous Miocic truly was during his ascent up the Heavyweight rankings as well as during his reign as champion. Honestly speaking, Miocic fell to a flash knockout at the hands of DC, and would probably dominate the latter in a rematch.
Miocic has superior boxing skills, and even seemed to briefly out-wrestle Cormier in their first fight...I, for one, wouldn't be surprised in the least if Miocic ends up beating DC if they fight next year...
Check Out: UFC Champions as of 2021
#4 Curtis Blaydes
Heading into his rematch against Francis Ngannou in November of this year, Curtis Blaydes was considered to be the favorite to avenge his previous TKO loss to the Cameroonian KO artist. However, lightning struck twice in this case, as Ngannou once again ended up defeating Blaydes by way of Technical Knockout.
But with that being said, Blaydes is still just 27 years of age, and despite being caught flush by a huge punch from Ngannou, the former fought back with the heart of a lion. The writing is on the wall...Blaydes has improved in leaps and bounds over the years, and with wins over the likes of Mark Hunt as well as Alistair Overeem; it's likely a matter of about 2-3 wins before he'd land a title shot.
Of every fighter in this article, I truly believe that Blaydes is one of the likeliest to out-wrestle Daniel Cormier. The former could match DC's volume striking on the feet, and potentially wrestle the UFC Heavyweight Title away from Cormier...
#3 Francis Ngannou
Francis Ngannou finally seems to have recovered from his decision losses to Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis earlier this year. Ngannou returned to the win column in style, by dismantling Curtis Blaydes in the very first round of their main event matchup in Beijing, China, this November.
Although the fight only lasted for about 45 seconds, Ngannou did show off excellent takedown defense against Blaydes, before styling on the latter with his brilliant boxing prowess. It's quite obvious now, that Ngannou's loss to Miocic was a game-planning error, whereas his defeat to Lewis was self-confessedly a confidence issue.
Nevertheless, now fully energized, Ngannou seems primed to take the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Should this man ever face Daniel Cormier, he'd likely have learnt from his grappling errors against Miocic.
And using that very experience against DC, Ngannou would stay patient, keep the fight on the feet, and systematically dissect Cormier with his superior boxing en route to a KO/TKO win...
#2 Cain Velasquez
This may very well be the most controversial choice on this list of potential new UFC Heavyweight Champions. Akin to Stipe Miocic, Cain Velasquez too, is a former UFC Heavyweight titlist...In fact, at one point of time, Velasquez was regarded by many as the greatest Heavyweight in MMA history.
Unfortunately, Velasquez suffered a number of injuries, which in turn have resulted in him competing in only about 7 MMA fights since 2011. Well, Velasquez now seems to be healthy and eager to make his return to the UFC's famed Octagon as soon as possible.
Now, if this were a mid-tier fighter, he'd probably have to earn his way back to the title. However, considering Velasquez's impressive resume, it'd make all the sense in the world to match him up with the fighter who wins the UFC Heavyweight Championship after Daniel Cormier loses/retires.
Velasquez and Cormier are longtime training partners, and unlikely to fight each other in a pro MMA bout, although their gym wars with one another are said to be legendary. Irrespective of who his opponent is, Velasquez possesses marvelous wrestling and kickboxing skills that could enable him to defeat whosoever the next UFC Heavyweight Champion may be!
Cain is back, and will most definitely remind the world why he's so feared, come 2019...
#1 Jon Jones
Jon Jones is regarded by many as one of the greatest talents to have ever competed in the combat sports realm. "Bones" has always been considered to be the gold-standard of "Fight IQ", and has never been one to shy away from risk-taking.
The man truly is a fearless, stone-cold destroyer, and has beaten Daniel Cormier at Light-Heavyweight, not once but twice! Well, to be fair, his second victory over DC was overturned to a No-Contest owing to Jones having tested positive for banned PEDs (Performance Enhancing Drugs) in a test related to his second fight with DC.
Nevertheless, there have been several rumors of Jones moving up to the Heavyweight division in order to fight Cormier for the third time. Jones arguably possesses the most diverse skill-set in combat sports history, and stands a great chance at becoming the next UFC Heavyweight Champion.
Irrespective of whether he faces Cormier or another fighter for the belt, Jones is indeed one of the favorites to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship in 2019 -- that is, provided he beats Alexander Gustafsson in their UFC Light-Heavyweight Title matchup at UFC 232 later this month.
Which fighter do you think is the next UFC Heavyweight Champion? Sound off in the comments!
