Daniel Cormier is one of the most decorated heavyweights in mixed martial arts history, having held titles in Strikeforce and the UFC. He also happens to be a pretty good analyst and hosts the MMA version of Detail on ESPN+.
Cormier, who works as an MMA commentator in addition to being an active UFC heavyweight who plans to challenge champion Stipe Miocic once more before retiring, will be providing color commentary at UFC 249 on Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida. And one of the fights he will certainly have a close eye on is the heavyweight matchup between Francis Ngannou and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
Ngannou (14-3) is riding a three-fight win streak that features first-round knockouts of 45 seconds, 26 seconds and 71 seconds. Rozenstruik (10-0) is coming off a monstrous 2019 in which he recorded four knockouts, including a devastating last-second finish of veteran Alistair Overeem.
The winner of this fight could ultimately fight for the title. How does Cormier see it going? He breaks it down here.
What are the keys to this fight?
When I look at this fight and break it down, I see two big, physical guys. When I watch Francis -- you understand all the power he possesses and the knockout ability -- but I think we're missing a few little, key things.
Francis has developed some real good setups now, especially as he's gotten on this win streak. Before, Francis was a guy who just wanted to overwhelm you with power. He carried his hands very low, almost loaded up on everything. But if you watch that Curtis Blaydes fight -- he's feint, feint, feint -- knowing Curtis has that ability to take him down. He couldn't just overwhelm him with power. Watch Francis' front hand, kind of almost feinting the jab, and then boom. Clubbing overhand right, behind the head of Curtis Blaydes, to put him out. Look at the little traps Francis is setting for his opponent, and then when he does land, he's got the ability to knock you out.
But then we gotta talk about "Bigi Boy." When you talk about Bigi Boy, he's a little less polished than Francis. And that's saying something, because we don't view Francis as the most -- I don't want to say anything that's going to insult him, because I don't want to piss the big guy off -- but Francis is not the most technical guy. He's a big, strong guy who can knock you out. And Jairzinho is the same type of way. But Jairzinho, I like his patience. That's one thing I saw in the Overeem fight, his patience is insane. And I think he has that patience because he understands it takes one shot for him to finish you. I think Jairzinho will kick more than Francis, and that comes from his kickboxing base. It's the right hand from Jairzinho that can end your night. When these two dudes are locked in the Octagon, it's a matter of who lands first.
One other key thing for me is, how does Francis approach another knockout artist? The last time he faced one, against Derrick Lewis, Francis was very tentative, very worried about what was coming back at him. How does he approach Jairzinho, knowing Jairzinho has that type of power? Let's see if he can come out of his shell this time -- or if he goes back to being tentative and staying on the outside, not being willing to take one to give one. As a heavyweight, you have to be willing to do that. Let's see if Jairzinho is willing to do it.
Ngannou's last three fights have all ended within 90 seconds. Rozenstruik collected four knockouts in 2019. Who has an edge in momentum, if either of them does?
I think for a guy like Francis, who is so intimidating, for someone to be calling for you, it has to do something. Like, "Whoa, what does this guy see in me?" Being the champion, everyone calls your name. But if you're the No. 1 contender, the guy everyone avoids, and this one particular guy is saying, "I want to fight you," what does Jairzinho see in Francis that makes him say that? So I think that has to play a little part in Francis' psyche.
But the reality is, when you beat Curtis Blaydes, who is on fire right now, and a former two-time champion in Cain Velasquez, and you knock out Junior Dos Santos, there is no one hotter than Francis Ngannou. Stipe Miocic is the champion, but he's only won one fight in a row. No one is as hot as Francis Ngannou.
At the end of the day, which of these two has more potential to win a UFC belt and hang on to it long term?
That's a difficult question, because Jairzinho's book is not written. It's so short. We're just seeing the beginning pages. He's been here for a year. We've seen more of Francis. We've seen Francis deal with high-level kickboxers, and we've seen him struggle with a guy like Stipe, who could wrestle him for 25 minutes. We've not seen Jairzinho in some of those positions yet. I'm interested to see how he handles a guy like myself or Stipe, who is going to continue to try and take you down.
I believe both of these guys have the potential to be a champion, but there will have to be a real focus on correcting things if they don't have the wrestling base. One encouraging thing for Jairzinho is he was much more fresh in the 25th minute of his match against Overeem than Francis was in the 25th minute of his fight against Miocic. This is a massive fight. It's going to be fun.