UFC 241: Daniel Cormier's 5 greatest UFC fights

#2 vs. Alexander Gustafsson – UFC 192

Cormier's fight with Alexander Gustafsson was a stone-cold classic

After capturing his first UFC title at 205lbs by beating Anthony Johnson at UFC 187, Daniel Cormier was faced with his first defense just 5 months later. His opponent? The man who’d pushed his great rival Jon Jones harder than anyone else – Swedish superstar Alexander Gustafsson.

And despite UFC 192 garnering less hype than many of 2015’s big shows, the fans in attendance in Houston, Texas were treated to a stone-cold classic.

The fight actually started as business as usual for Cormier; he clinched with Gustafsson, overpowered him from there and took him down, and used his wrestling skill to dominate the Swede.

But rather than wilt, ‘The Mauler’ turned the tide in the second round, using his range and movement to land big shots on Cormier from the outside while absorbing big shots from ‘DC’ from close quarters.

The third and fourth rounds were almost impossible to score; Cormier continued to abuse Gustafsson from the clinch in the third before being caught with a huge knee that would’ve put many fighters out cold. Somehow though ‘DC’ had a chin strong enough to survive, and with both men landing huge blows, the fight was likely anyone’s going into the fifth.

And despite Gustafsson continuing to throw heavy leather, it was the final round that saw Cormier steal the narrow victory, pushing a harder pace than the Swede and just about edging some incredible exchanges.

The judges eventually awarded Cormier a split decision – and it’s telling that while he’s gone onto more successes, Gustafsson was arguably never the same again after such an incredible war. In terms of fight quality, this was probably the best showing of Cormier’s career.