5 UFC fighters who moved up in weight and found success

#5 Daniel Cormier

Daniel Cormier became a double champion with his move to Heavyweight

When former StrikeForce Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier debuted in the UFC in 2013 with a win at Heavyweight over former UFC champion Frank Mir, his run in the heaviest weight category was always supposed to be temporary. At the time, Cormier’s friend and training partner Cain Velasquez held the UFC Heavyweight title, and the plan was for ‘DC’ – an undersized Heavyweight – to move to 205lbs to attempt to claim UFC gold there.

It came as no surprise in early 2014 then when Cormier made the move down in weight, shellacking Patrick Cummins before impressively submitting legendary veteran Dan Henderson. Those wins were enough to give him a title shot against Light-Heavyweight champ Jon Jones, and while he came up short, Cormier claimed the title with a win over top contender Anthony Johnson when personal issues forced Jones to vacate.

Cormier’s subsequent run at 205lbs would’ve been enough alone to make him a UFC legend; he defeated Alexander Gustafsson, Anderson Silva, Johnson in a rematch and Volkan Oezdemir, with his only loss coming to a doped-up Jones in a rematch. By 2018 though, Velasquez no longer held the Heavyweight title, and champion Stipe Miocic was largely without a top contender to face.

So Cormier made the move back up to Heavyweight, and despite remaining undersized, he knocked out Miocic at UFC 226 to become a double champion. Cormier then defended his title successfully against Derrick Lewis, and while he has since been dethroned by Miocic in a rematch, it’s still very debatable as to whether ‘DC’ is better off at Light-Heavyweight or Heavyweight.