Daniel Cormier has surprisingly named Derick Lewis as his hardest-hitting UFC opponent.
Cormier reached the pinnacle of his career in 2018 after becoming the third fighter in UFC history — after Conor McGregor and Amanda Nunes — to hold two titles in two weight classes simultaneously.
He achieved this feat after knocking out Stipe Miocic to become the UFC heavyweight champion, during a period when he also ruled the light heavyweight division, largely due to the absence of Jon Jones.
‘DC’ went toe-to-toe with Jones twice in the octagon, losing both bouts, although the second fight was eventually ruled a no-contest after the latter failed drug tests.
Cormier’s two bouts with Jones were the only two defeats of his nine-year 21-fight career, until he rematched Miocic.
He dropped the heavyweight belt to the Croatian in 2019 before suffering another defeat in their trilogy one year later, which marked his final fight in Dana White’s promotion.
“I’ve only been knocked out one time, so probably the guy that kicked me on the head,” Cormier said during a UFC 312 media day on Friday, referring to current UFC heavyweight champion Jones.
UFC 312 has Dricus Du Plessis defending his middleweight title in a rematch with Sean Strickland in the headline act.
Meanwhile Tatiana Suarez challenges Zhang Weili for the strawweight belt in the co-main event.
Cormier’s comments came after Aussies Tai Tuivasa and Alexander Volkanovski had named Sergei Pavlovich and Ilia Topuria as their respective hardest-hitting opponents.
Jack Della Maddalena, who headlines UFC London in March, mentioned Gilbert Burns as the man who hit him hardest.
“But honestly, the hardest puncher was probably Derick Lewis, or one of those heavyweights,” Cormier added.
“Those guys were big. But in terms of the kick it was Jones.”
Cormier’s victory against Lewis when they clashed in the main event of UFC 230 in November 2018 was his last in the UFC.
‘The Black Beast’ landed just five of a total 14 strikes — compared to Cormier’s 42 of 54 — during the bout that lasted two rounds, meaning they must have been very hard.
Lewis has fought in the UFC for over 10 years, beating the likes of Roy Nelson, Francis Ngannou and Alexander Volkov on his quest to become the promotion’s toughest heavyweight.
He holds the record the most knockouts in UFC history, with a whopping 15 in total ahead of names like Dustin Poirier, Max Holloway and Anderson Silva.
His fight with Cormier was his only shot at UFC gold until he battled — and also lost to — Ciryl Gane at UFC 265 in August 2021.
Cormier was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame’s ‘Modern Wing’ in May 2022.
UFC President Dana White had a glowing review of his heavyweight star when discussing the former champion’s career.
“Daniel Cormier is one of the most badass competitors of all time,” White said in 2022.
“DC faced the greatest athletes in the world on every level of wrestling and MMA.
“He is also the ultimate professional. As an active fighter, he always took time for the media, which led him to become one of the best TV analysts in all of sports.
“DC is one of the greatest ambassadors UFC has ever had, and it’s going to be an honor to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.”
During his second fight with the now-retired Miocic at UFC 241, Cormier set the record for the most significant strikes landed in a UFC heavyweight fight.
He connected with 181 of his 263 strikes, while also setting the record for the most significant strikes landed to the head in a UFC heavyweight bout with 162.