Daniel Cormier Ground And Pounds Anderson Silva In A Lopsided Decision

It’s been a whirlwind week for Daniel Cormier, MMA fans, and everyone involved with UFC 200. With just 48 hours until weigh-ins, Jon Jones was pulled from the card after an anti-doping violation, and Cormier was left without a fight on the UFC’s biggest card in history. In stepped The Spider, Anderson Silva, who would take the fight against the light heavyweight champion and one of the pound for pound best in the business at 198.5 pounds, less than two months after gallbladder surgery. The collective MMA world was blown away. And it was good.

Unfortunately for MMA fans, Cormier embraced the grind and we had to watch a somewhat boring fight. It happens!

To start, we heard Anderson’s music early in a show for the first time in nearly a decade. It was surreal.

Cormier walked out confident, and he should’ve been because Anderson had nothing for Cormier’s takedowns. Cormier would smile at Anderson, knowing Anderson could do nothing while he was on his back (his defense was superb, considering). It was pure domination, and the crowd booed as the light heavyweight champ rained down elbows and hammerfists on the middleweight GOAT. Cormier was just bigger and stronger. Anderson was trapped under Cormier’s excellent wrestling.

Big John would give Anderson a chance by standing the two men up, but Cormier would quickly get Silva’s back up against the cage where he could do nothing but survive. Here’s one of the few moments that took place with both fighters on the feet.

Even as the two men exchanged for a few seconds to start the third, a Cormier takedown was inevitable. As soon as it happened the boos echoed throughout the arena, and the chants for Anderson echoed through the arena. Anderson did well deflecting Cormier’s strikes, but if this was the best Cormier ever, it doesn’t say much considering Anderson was the smaller fighter taking this after surgery on 48 hours notice.

In the final seconds, Anderson had Cormier hurt with a body kick, but Cormier quickly hung on for dear life and it was all over. This was not what we wanted out of this fight, but it was the expected result.

Still, both Cormier and the crowd absolutely respected Anderson for stepping up.