Daniel Cormier did precisely enough at UFC 200 to get himself a payday while not risking a loss to an Anderson Silva fresh off of surgery stepping in on two days notice.
In the few moments of striking action, Silva got the crowd behind him with some creative movement and offense, and given he took the fight on Thursday after undergoing gallbladder surgery in May he didn’t look terrible. He received a great ovation at all times from the fans, goodwill that was not given to Cormier under the circumstances.
The fans wanted an entertaining fight, and instead they got Cormier safely – and smartly, I might add – taking Silva down and simply controlling the action while not exposing himself to danger. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t the greatest to watch, and it may hurt Cormier’s public image, but he can’t be blamed for employing the gameplan he did against a fighter like Silva.
Cormier walks away with a (likely) lesser payday than he’d have had fighting Jon Jones in the main event, but he mitigates some of that damage with the payday he will receive, and now he can move forward with or without Jon Jones depending on what happens with USADA.
[Photo (c) Joe Camporeale via USA Today Sports]
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