Can the underdog walk in and steal the spotlight from the Olympian?
It could be come one of the great underdog stories seen in the UFC for quite some time if Patrick Cummins can walk in for little notice and beat and undefeated Daniel Cormier.
That is is what mixed martial arts fans are facing ahead of the co-main event at UFC 170 this weekend, as Cormier fights for the first time at 205 pounds.
Cormier was meant to face Rashad Evans, in a bout that could have had title implications in a fight or two, but after a late knee injury to ‘Suga’, the former US Olympian was left without an opponent.
In steps Cummins.
The former training partner of Cormier said he would gladly give his job working in a coffee shop for a chance to throw down against the former Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion.
After the fight was signed to go ahead, Cummins made the claim he used to make Cormier cry in during training, leading to a tense face-to-face during a television interview.
Whether the stunt was a part of Cummins’ plan to talk up a fight against a man who has yet to be beaten in his MMA career in the form of the 34-year-old from American Kicking Boxing Academy (Cormier 13-0) it remains to be seens.
However, his guts to take the fight the fight and then play mind games with his opponent says he is read not to die wondering after just a handful of pro fights.
For Cormier it will his first fight at 205 pounds after making the cut from heavyweight, where he always looked oversized with the man himself saying 205lbs is closer to his natural weight.
This should mean Cormier is faster with his striking and on his feet going for takedowns, where he has excellent in his MMA career to date.
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