Sherdog.com’s 2015 Fight of the Year

3. Daniel Cormier vs. Alexander Gustafsson
UFC 192
Saturday, Oct. 3
Toyota Center | Houston
Going into his fight with Alexander Gustafsson, Daniel Cormier framed the Swede as a man defined by his losses more than his wins. It was intended as a bit of psychological warfare, but if that proves to be true it should not be some terrible mark of shame. Gustafsson can now lay claim to having been in arguably the two best UFC light heavyweight title fights of all-time, giving two tremendously talented opponents all they could handle. Of course, Cormier is the one who got the last laugh with the judges’ decision over Gustafsson at UFC 192.

Gustafsson-Cormier was a fight that surprised on a number of levels. Cormier, the world class wrestler, found himself taken down by the Swedish striker. Gustafsson, with his tremendous reach advantage, was beaten up on the feet by Cormier’s striking. Most importantly, the fight elevated itself in importance because of how good it was.

When Gustafsson-Cormier was signed, it was treated as an afterthought by many MMA fans. Jon Jones’ return hangs over every fighter in the 205-pound division given how dominant he was before being stripped of his title. Many perceive Jones to be the rightful champion, regardless of how UFC markets its top active light heavyweights. In spite of that, Cormier and Gustafsson delivered such a great fight that fans were forced to forget about Jones and concentrate on the worthiness of the two fighters competing for the championship in his absence.

Despite being the shorter and more compact fighter, Cormier was surprisingly effective striking with Gustafsson. His years fighting at heavyweight added to his confidence competing as a smaller man. He also exploited his comfortability in the clinch to punish Gustafsson from close range. Gustafsson landed major shots of his own and had Cormier in the biggest jeopardy of the fight in the third round. A vicious Gustafsson knee nearly brought the fight to a close, but Cormier was able to survive into the next round. The fight boiled down to a split decision and, of course, plenty of discussion and argument after it was over.

Many fans thought Cormier clearly won the fight, an understandable sentiment given the two clearest rounds, one and five, went to the American Kickboxing Academy product. However, rounds two through four were all close and could have gone either way. The third round was particularly tricky given Cormier dominated most of the frame before being nearly finished late. If judge Derek Cleary had agreed with Sal D’Amato and Kerry Hatley on the third, the decision would have been unanimous for Cormier. If D’Amato had been the one to switch on that round, Gustafsson would have been the new champion. That is how close the fight was.

The war between Gustafsson-Cormier may end up not well-remembered if Jones returns to take back his title and tower over the division in the same way he did before. It will be a shame if that is the case. Gustafsson and Cormier proved what elite fighters they are in a terrific championship showdown.

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