'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
ONE Championship heavyweight contender Arjan Singh Bhullar and former UFC heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier have known each other for more than a decade, and the former also trained with Cormier at the American Kickboxing Academy.
Watching dear friend Cormier go down was a 'bittersweet' experience for Bhullar
Watching his dear friend Cormier lose the UFC heavyweight title to Stipe Miocic at UFC 241 was difficult for him, to say the least.
“It was bittersweet to see the result, and seeing it end the way it did was upsetting. That’s not how you envision going. But the reason I say bittersweet; the sweetness was that [Cormier] was winning the fight. He wrestled him up the first round, punched him up the following two, he looked good, man. He looked comfortable — almost too comfortable.” - said Bhullar to BJPENN.com,
DC's swansong
While Cormier’s UFC 241 fight did not go according to plan, Cormier did manage to beat the reigning UFC heavyweight champion Miocic when the pair met for the first time in July 2018, when Cormier stunned the heavyweight champ with a first-round knockout.
Tied at one win each, Cormier and Miocic are expected to meet in a tie-breaking trilogy fight sometime next year. The fight will also serve as Cormier’s swansong inside the Octagon.
Initially, it was believed that Cormier's previous fight against Stipe would be his last, but following the disappointing loss, he decided to delay his retirement to finish the trilogy with 'The Silencer'.
Bhullar happy to see DC stick around for one last fight
Bhullar backed his friend’s decision to hang around for one more fight and believes that as an athlete, one would always want to go out with their arm raised in victory and not otherwise.
“As an athlete, you talk about it, you see it all the time: you always want to go out with your arm raised. He deserves that [opportunity]. He’s earned that with his body of work. It’s never guaranteed, but you can always try to make it happen. If the will is there, you go for it, and nobody can answer that question for him. That’s up to him, and what he has inside. Is the will there? Is his family on board? Obviously the support network, in terms of the coaches, is always there, but it really comes down to him and what he feels inside, and it seems as though he feels [the will] is there. Everybody is going to rally around him. He’s the [American Kickboxing Academy] Captain for a reason.” - stated Bhullar.
Predictions for the outcome of the rubber match
Arjan Bhullar believes that the final fight in the Cormier vs. Stipe trilogy will result in a sweet victory for DC, allowing the former UFC Champion to get the proper send-off which he thoroughly deserves.
“I hope that he’s able to write the last chapter of his career on his terms,” Bhullar said. “It’s tough. Stipe is such a tough, tough competitor. He’s so resilient. But I think ‘DC’ is special. He’s shown that Stipe is beatable, he’s shown that Stipe can be taken down and held down. Although it’s not easy to take him down, [the possibility is] there. Without being biased, I obviously have to lean towards my guy based on those facts.”
Although he will be rooting for his friend, Bhullar does next expect Cormier to have a field day inside the Octagon against Stipe. He feels that it will be a closely contested fight, which Cormier will clinch, potentially by late stoppage.
“You have to look at Stipe’s resilience, and you have to expect a long, drawn-out war; very taxing, very tactical. It’s going to be a fourth-fifth round kind of fight. That’s how I see it. It’s going to go deep, but it’s going to be our day.” - stated Stipe while predicting the fight.
Who do you think will win the rubber match between Stipe and DC?
Please let us know in the comments section below. Also check out UFC News and Rumors.
Follow Sportskeeda Wrestling and Sportskeeda MMA on Twitter for all the latest news. Do not miss out!
