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Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier has made his picks for the promotion’s male and female fighters of the year.
2022 saw a host of storylines reach the Octagon, some of which concluded with the crowning of new champions, whilst others saw once-fallen titleholders return to their respective throne.
With that, a number of names come to mind as the discussions surrounding this year’s best in the UFC begin. Cormier, who held both heavyweight and light heavyweight gold during his Octagon tenure, recently provided his answers during the 2022 DC & RC Awards on ESPN MMA’s YouTube channel.
“DC” began by identifying one of two reigning champs who fought back to the top this year as his standout performer on the women’s roster.
Rather than that being Amanda Nunes, who defeated Julianna Peña in her sole 2022 outing to win back the bantamweight gold, Cormier named the reigning strawweight queen as his female fighter of the year.
“I chose Zhang Weili. We have (two) women… Valentina and Amanda, who we can give the female fighter of the year to every single year,” Cormier said. “It’s like the LeBron James thing, how many years should LeBron James have been the MVP? He was probably MVP 10 or 12 times over the course of his career, but instead, they were giving it to other guys.
“Zhang Weili showed this year that she puts herself on that level. She puts herself in that tier of fighter that can be considered the female fighter of the year,” Cormier continued. “Her domination over Joanna J?drzejczyk in Singapore, she beat her with the wrestling and just dominated and controlled her, and then she goes out there and dominates Carla Esparza.”
In her two appearances this year, Zhang secured a title shot by sending J?drzejczyk into retirement with a memorable spinning backfist and ensured that Carla Esparza’s second strawweight rule was as short as the first.
In the championship bout, which took place at UFC 281 last month, “Magnum” was heavily favored to regain the title. Cormier credited the Chinese star for justifying the one-sided odds with her performance, something he suggested many fail to do.
“When you’re expected to do something, sometimes it’s the hardest thing,” Cormier noted. “Not only did Zhang Weili win, she went out there and she dominated in that fight to become the champion. It looks like it’s gonna be very difficult to get that belt off her.”
Cormier Names New Champ As Male Fighter Of The Year
Despite the presence of his American Kickboxing Academy teammate Islam Makhachev on the list of nominees for male fighter of the year, Cormier strayed away from the Dagestani, who secured the lightweight title at UFC 280 in October.
Once again pointing to a fighter who was crowned champ inside Madison Square Garden at UFC 281, “DC” named middleweight king Alex Pereira as his male fighter of the year.
“Alexander Volkanovski looked amazing. Aljo (Aljamain Sterling) did, Islam did, Leon (Edwards) did; they all did. But my fighter of the year (for) 2022 has to go to Alex Pereira,” Cormier said. “Alex Pereira, a guy that is 3-0 this year but he only has about seven MMA fights, is the UFC champion. Not only did he win three fights, but RC (Ryan Clark), he (beat) a person whom many consider one of the greatest middleweights of all time, a person who was right on the verge of tying Anderson Silva for a win streak in the middleweight division, a person we were talking about in historical terms.
“Not only did he beat him, he beat him in a way that’s become expected in their interactions — Izzy starts great, Alex wins in the end. For him to handle that pressure of becoming the champ that quickly, crazy for me. My male fighter of the year… Alex Pereira,” Cormier concluded.
In the November 12 headliner, Pereira culminated a rapid ascent to the 185-pound mountaintop by knocking Israel Adesanya out in the final round.
The result extended the Brazilian’s lead over the Nigerian-New Zealander across combat sports to 3-0, with “Poatan” previously collecting a pair of wins over “The Last Stylebender” in the kickboxing ring.
Do you agree with Daniel Cormier’s picks for 2022’s male and female UFC fighters of the year?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier has made his picks for the promotion’s male and female fighters of the year.
2022 saw a host of storylines reach the Octagon, some of which concluded with the crowning of new champions, whilst others saw once-fallen titleholders return to their respective throne.
With that, a number of names come to mind as the discussions surrounding this year’s best in the UFC begin. Cormier, who held both heavyweight and light heavyweight gold during his Octagon tenure, recently provided his answers during the 2022 DC & RC Awards on ESPN MMA’s YouTube channel.
“DC” began by identifying one of two reigning champs who fought back to the top this year as his standout performer on the women’s roster.
Rather than that being Amanda Nunes, who defeated Julianna Peña in her sole 2022 outing to win back the bantamweight gold, Cormier named the reigning strawweight queen as his female fighter of the year.
“I chose Zhang Weili. We have (two) women… Valentina and Amanda, who we can give the female fighter of the year to every single year,” Cormier said. “It’s like the LeBron James thing, how many years should LeBron James have been the MVP? He was probably MVP 10 or 12 times over the course of his career, but instead, they were giving it to other guys.
“Zhang Weili showed this year that she puts herself on that level. She puts herself in that tier of fighter that can be considered the female fighter of the year,” Cormier continued. “Her domination over Joanna J?drzejczyk in Singapore, she beat her with the wrestling and just dominated and controlled her, and then she goes out there and dominates Carla Esparza.”
In her two appearances this year, Zhang secured a title shot by sending J?drzejczyk into retirement with a memorable spinning backfist and ensured that Carla Esparza’s second strawweight rule was as short as the first.
In the championship bout, which took place at UFC 281 last month, “Magnum” was heavily favored to regain the title. Cormier credited the Chinese star for justifying the one-sided odds with her performance, something he suggested many fail to do.
“When you’re expected to do something, sometimes it’s the hardest thing,” Cormier noted. “Not only did Zhang Weili win, she went out there and she dominated in that fight to become the champion. It looks like it’s gonna be very difficult to get that belt off her.”
Cormier Names New Champ As Male Fighter Of The Year
Despite the presence of his American Kickboxing Academy teammate Islam Makhachev on the list of nominees for male fighter of the year, Cormier strayed away from the Dagestani, who secured the lightweight title at UFC 280 in October.
Once again pointing to a fighter who was crowned champ inside Madison Square Garden at UFC 281, “DC” named middleweight king Alex Pereira as his male fighter of the year.
“Alexander Volkanovski looked amazing. Aljo (Aljamain Sterling) did, Islam did, Leon (Edwards) did; they all did. But my fighter of the year (for) 2022 has to go to Alex Pereira,” Cormier said. “Alex Pereira, a guy that is 3-0 this year but he only has about seven MMA fights, is the UFC champion. Not only did he win three fights, but RC (Ryan Clark), he (beat) a person whom many consider one of the greatest middleweights of all time, a person who was right on the verge of tying Anderson Silva for a win streak in the middleweight division, a person we were talking about in historical terms.
“Not only did he beat him, he beat him in a way that’s become expected in their interactions — Izzy starts great, Alex wins in the end. For him to handle that pressure of becoming the champ that quickly, crazy for me. My male fighter of the year… Alex Pereira,” Cormier concluded.
In the November 12 headliner, Pereira culminated a rapid ascent to the 185-pound mountaintop by knocking Israel Adesanya out in the final round.
The result extended the Brazilian’s lead over the Nigerian-New Zealander across combat sports to 3-0, with “Poatan” previously collecting a pair of wins over “The Last Stylebender” in the kickboxing ring.
Do you agree with Daniel Cormier’s picks for 2022’s male and female UFC fighters of the year?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
2022 saw a host of storylines reach the Octagon, some of which concluded with the crowning of new champions, whilst others saw once-fallen titleholders return to their respective throne.
With that, a number of names come to mind as the discussions surrounding this year’s best in the UFC begin. Cormier, who held both heavyweight and light heavyweight gold during his Octagon tenure, recently provided his answers during the 2022 DC & RC Awards on ESPN MMA’s YouTube channel.
“DC” began by identifying one of two reigning champs who fought back to the top this year as his standout performer on the women’s roster.
Rather than that being Amanda Nunes, who defeated Julianna Peña in her sole 2022 outing to win back the bantamweight gold, Cormier named the reigning strawweight queen as his female fighter of the year.
“I chose Zhang Weili. We have (two) women… Valentina and Amanda, who we can give the female fighter of the year to every single year,” Cormier said. “It’s like the LeBron James thing, how many years should LeBron James have been the MVP? He was probably MVP 10 or 12 times over the course of his career, but instead, they were giving it to other guys.
“Zhang Weili showed this year that she puts herself on that level. She puts herself in that tier of fighter that can be considered the female fighter of the year,” Cormier continued. “Her domination over Joanna J?drzejczyk in Singapore, she beat her with the wrestling and just dominated and controlled her, and then she goes out there and dominates Carla Esparza.”
In her two appearances this year, Zhang secured a title shot by sending J?drzejczyk into retirement with a memorable spinning backfist and ensured that Carla Esparza’s second strawweight rule was as short as the first.
In the championship bout, which took place at UFC 281 last month, “Magnum” was heavily favored to regain the title. Cormier credited the Chinese star for justifying the one-sided odds with her performance, something he suggested many fail to do.
“When you’re expected to do something, sometimes it’s the hardest thing,” Cormier noted. “Not only did Zhang Weili win, she went out there and she dominated in that fight to become the champion. It looks like it’s gonna be very difficult to get that belt off her.”
Cormier Names New Champ As Male Fighter Of The Year
Despite the presence of his American Kickboxing Academy teammate Islam Makhachev on the list of nominees for male fighter of the year, Cormier strayed away from the Dagestani, who secured the lightweight title at UFC 280 in October.
Once again pointing to a fighter who was crowned champ inside Madison Square Garden at UFC 281, “DC” named middleweight king Alex Pereira as his male fighter of the year.
“Alexander Volkanovski looked amazing. Aljo (Aljamain Sterling) did, Islam did, Leon (Edwards) did; they all did. But my fighter of the year (for) 2022 has to go to Alex Pereira,” Cormier said. “Alex Pereira, a guy that is 3-0 this year but he only has about seven MMA fights, is the UFC champion. Not only did he win three fights, but RC (Ryan Clark), he (beat) a person whom many consider one of the greatest middleweights of all time, a person who was right on the verge of tying Anderson Silva for a win streak in the middleweight division, a person we were talking about in historical terms.
“Not only did he beat him, he beat him in a way that’s become expected in their interactions — Izzy starts great, Alex wins in the end. For him to handle that pressure of becoming the champ that quickly, crazy for me. My male fighter of the year… Alex Pereira,” Cormier concluded.
In the November 12 headliner, Pereira culminated a rapid ascent to the 185-pound mountaintop by knocking Israel Adesanya out in the final round.
The result extended the Brazilian’s lead over the Nigerian-New Zealander across combat sports to 3-0, with “Poatan” previously collecting a pair of wins over “The Last Stylebender” in the kickboxing ring.
Do you agree with Daniel Cormier’s picks for 2022’s male and female UFC fighters of the year?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
2022 saw a host of storylines reach the Octagon, some of which concluded with the crowning of new champions, whilst others saw once-fallen titleholders return to their respective throne.
With that, a number of names come to mind as the discussions surrounding this year’s best in the UFC begin. Cormier, who held both heavyweight and light heavyweight gold during his Octagon tenure, recently provided his answers during the 2022 DC & RC Awards on ESPN MMA’s YouTube channel.
“DC” began by identifying one of two reigning champs who fought back to the top this year as his standout performer on the women’s roster.
Rather than that being Amanda Nunes, who defeated Julianna Peña in her sole 2022 outing to win back the bantamweight gold, Cormier named the reigning strawweight queen as his female fighter of the year.
“I chose Zhang Weili. We have (two) women… Valentina and Amanda, who we can give the female fighter of the year to every single year,” Cormier said. “It’s like the LeBron James thing, how many years should LeBron James have been the MVP? He was probably MVP 10 or 12 times over the course of his career, but instead, they were giving it to other guys.
“Zhang Weili showed this year that she puts herself on that level. She puts herself in that tier of fighter that can be considered the female fighter of the year,” Cormier continued. “Her domination over Joanna J?drzejczyk in Singapore, she beat her with the wrestling and just dominated and controlled her, and then she goes out there and dominates Carla Esparza.”
In her two appearances this year, Zhang secured a title shot by sending J?drzejczyk into retirement with a memorable spinning backfist and ensured that Carla Esparza’s second strawweight rule was as short as the first.
In the championship bout, which took place at UFC 281 last month, “Magnum” was heavily favored to regain the title. Cormier credited the Chinese star for justifying the one-sided odds with her performance, something he suggested many fail to do.
“When you’re expected to do something, sometimes it’s the hardest thing,” Cormier noted. “Not only did Zhang Weili win, she went out there and she dominated in that fight to become the champion. It looks like it’s gonna be very difficult to get that belt off her.”
Cormier Names New Champ As Male Fighter Of The Year
Despite the presence of his American Kickboxing Academy teammate Islam Makhachev on the list of nominees for male fighter of the year, Cormier strayed away from the Dagestani, who secured the lightweight title at UFC 280 in October.
Once again pointing to a fighter who was crowned champ inside Madison Square Garden at UFC 281, “DC” named middleweight king Alex Pereira as his male fighter of the year.
“Alexander Volkanovski looked amazing. Aljo (Aljamain Sterling) did, Islam did, Leon (Edwards) did; they all did. But my fighter of the year (for) 2022 has to go to Alex Pereira,” Cormier said. “Alex Pereira, a guy that is 3-0 this year but he only has about seven MMA fights, is the UFC champion. Not only did he win three fights, but RC (Ryan Clark), he (beat) a person whom many consider one of the greatest middleweights of all time, a person who was right on the verge of tying Anderson Silva for a win streak in the middleweight division, a person we were talking about in historical terms.
“Not only did he beat him, he beat him in a way that’s become expected in their interactions — Izzy starts great, Alex wins in the end. For him to handle that pressure of becoming the champ that quickly, crazy for me. My male fighter of the year… Alex Pereira,” Cormier concluded.
In the November 12 headliner, Pereira culminated a rapid ascent to the 185-pound mountaintop by knocking Israel Adesanya out in the final round.
The result extended the Brazilian’s lead over the Nigerian-New Zealander across combat sports to 3-0, with “Poatan” previously collecting a pair of wins over “The Last Stylebender” in the kickboxing ring.
Do you agree with Daniel Cormier’s picks for 2022’s male and female UFC fighters of the year?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
