CLEVELAND -- UFC light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier never wanted to move back up to heavyweight, as it meant possibly having to fight his close friend and American Kickboxing Academy teammate, Cain Velasquez, potentially with the championship belt on the line.
But after being presented an opportunity to move up one weight class and receiving a “blessing” from Velasquez, a former champion in his own right, Cormier is ready to challenge Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight championship in the main event of UFC 226 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Saturday night.
“When I asked him about it, he was like, ‘Look, man, you’ve got a chance to go and do something so special. You’ve got to do it,’” Cormier said in a conference call to promote UFC 226. “When we look at fights, there’s confidence.
“A lot of people may think, ‘Stipe’s won this belt and defended it on multiple occasions and he’s looked phenomenal doing it,’ but when we look at the matchup and we watch the competition and we watch the way that we fight, Cain, along with everybody else, felt pretty confident and we decided to go for it.”
PHOTOS: With Cain Velasquez's blessing, Daniel Cormier ready to challenge Stipe Miocic for UFC title
While Cormier and his camp are confident heading into Saturday’s bout, Miocic continues to defy the odds and make those who bet against him regret their decisions.
Despite being an underdog once again, Miocic, a graduate of Eastlake North High School, is still the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion of the world after a dominant unanimous-decision win over top-ranked contender Francis Ngannou in the main event of UFC 220 at TD Garden in Boston back in January.
Owner of the record for the most consecutive defenses of the UFC heavyweight championship, Miocic won the bout, 50-44, on all three of the judges' scorecards.
“I’ve spent time with Stipe before,” Cormier said. “I actually went to Cleveland and filmed a show on him called ‘In The Clinch’ just kind of getting the background of Stipe Miocic. I went not as a guy that may fight him at some point. I just went as potentially a reporter, or as a guy doing an interview. When I learned his mentality, I was like, ‘Oh, this guy has a real strong mindset for competition and for life.’
“When the fight was brought to me, I said, ‘Man, I want to fight this guy not only for legacy, but because I know his mental, and if I’m the person that can go and break that mental, I’m the person that can go and get that title, I want to try and do that.’ I accepted the fight knowing that he’s a strong mental fighter.”
Knowing what is on the line when The Octagon door closes Saturday night, Cormier considers his fight against Miocic the highest-stakes bout of his career.
“This is the biggest fight of my career because I’m fighting the heavyweight champion of the world, the most successful heavyweight champion of the world,” Cormier said. “I think Stipe is great. Do I think he’s the best heavyweight of all time? No, I still believe Cain Velasquez is, but I do believe he’s the most successful heavyweight champion of all time.
“Yeah, it’s a big fight. I’ve been in a lot of big spots. I’ve fought (Jon) Jones twice. I fought at UFC 200. I’ve fought main events, and Stipe has too, but I’ve fought in a lot of big, big spots, and I believe that this one ranks as high if not higher than anything I’ve ever competed in.”
