As we near the halfway mark of 2023, Daniel Cormier listed his top three UFC fights of the year.
In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Cormier said there have been “some tremendous battles” so far in 2023, but three particular ones stood out for the former UFC dual champion.
All three of Cormier’s picks earned Fight of the Night and took place at UFC 284, UFC 285 and UFC 286.
Scroll below to see Cormier’s selections.
No. 3: Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Geoff Neal at UFC 285
Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Geoff Neal via submission (standing rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 4:17
“This fight was bananas. Go back and watch it. Anytime you have a fight that tells two stories – one story being the toughness and durability of Fighter A, the other story being the domination of Fighter B – matchmaking at its finest. That’s what you got at UFC 285. But for as good as that fight was, it’s not my best fight of the first part of the year.”
No. 2: Islam Makhachev def. Alexander Volkanovsk at UFC 284
Islam Makhachev def. Alexander Volkanovski via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) at UFC 284
“Ultimately, what we got was the two best fighters, pound-for-pound, in my opinion, fighting for the lightweight championship of the world to the point that Volkanovski was offered an immediate second chance at fighting Makahchev. That’s how competitive the fight was.
“A good fight can be a knock-down, drag-out … and that’s exactly what that was. It can also be two of the most skilled guys in the world competing at a level that not many can match. I believe that’s exactly what we got at UFC 284.”
No. 1: Justin Gaethje def. Rafael Fiziev at UFC 286
Justin Gaethje def. Rafael Fiziev via majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
“Justin Gaethje did what he does, and that’s take your will to fight. Even though Fiziev was there and still trying, you could really see that it was done. I’ve never met a person like Gaethje in the face of adversity and in the face of dire circumstances. He lives for it. He loves the chaos. He loves living in the moment of being in just a train wreck. That fight was amazing, and people were on their feet from the moment it started.”
