The Heavyweights - UFC

Miocic vs Cormier 3 has just been announced for August 15th. This fight will be the last chapter of the trilogy between these two recent UFC champions. If it follows the pattern of the first two fights, it ought to be an exciting one. The first fight had Cormier take the belt from Stipe via KO in the final minute of the first round. Cormier became the second fighter in the UFC to hold two titles simultaneously. Prior to fighting Mioic, Cormier successfully defended his lightweight title against Volkan Oezdemir.

In the second fight, Miocic regained his belt and beat Cormier in the 4th round via TKO. It was a grueling fight that had Cormier winning most of the fight only to have Miocic come back in the 4th and defeat  Cormier. It was a great fight and an amazing comeback from the challenger.

Without a doubt, Miocic and Cormier are the best fighters in the Heavyweight division. Ngannou is currently ranked #2 and is improving his game. Curtis Blaydes holds the #3 position in the rankings and is on a three fight winning streak. Derrick Lewis and Junior Dos Santos are #4 and #5 respectively.

Regardless of the outcome between Miocic vs Cormier, it's safe to say that Ngannou will be next in line for the title. Ngannou is a power puncher. Most of his fights have been won via KO/TKO within the first and second rounds. Francis lost to Miocic, Derrick Lewis and to Cisse, the latter one, early on his career. All those three losses were via decision. It's clear that the longer the fight goes on, his punching power decreases. He needs major adjustments to his cardio to endure several rounds, or he needs to get a 1st round KO if he wants to become a champion. Neither of which he couldn't do against Miocic.

Blaydes, the #3 ranked, is a solid, well rounded fighter. His only two losses have been against Francis Ngannou via TKO. He has solid wins against top fighters such as dos Santos, Overeem and Abdurakhimov. If Bladyes wants that belt, he most likely will have to go through Ngannou again.

Derrick Lewis, as in the case of Ngannou, is limited on his punching power and his chances of winning heavily decrease as the fight goes on. He's never gone for 5 rounds, and only twice fought into the 4th round. He will have to make major improvements if he wants to challenge for the title again, let alone win the belt.  Maybe all that Popeyes is not that good for him after all.

Junior dos Santos is the #5 ranked heavyweight. What can we say about the veteran? He's a former UFC champion and a true warrior. But you cannot have the kind of battles that Junior has had and expect to have the same fighter of old. At 36, he's lost 6 of his last 12 fights. He could still have a good run climbing the ranks but it will be very difficult for him to challenge for the championship again.

Let's sit back and enjoy the build up to Miocic vs Cormier 3. If Miocic wins, he could beat his own record of title defenses in the heavyweight division. If Cormier wins, he could be tempted to extend his career. Whatever the result, it should be a memorable third fight.