Who’s the GOAT? It’s the sort of discussion topic that has filled countless hours in bars across the world as sports fans debate the greatest athlete of all time in their favorite sport.
It’s no different in MMA, but former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier says it’s less clear-cut than in some other sports.
Basketball may have Michael Jordan as its GOAT, but when asked who the “MJ” of MMA might be, “DC” admitted it was a tough call.
“Michael Jordan has long been the undisputed greatest of all time in basketball, (but) I don’t think we have that in mixed martial arts,” he suggested. “But I think when you start thinking about a guy who just personified ‘champion,’ a guy that just ran the table and did everything he was supposed to do, the right way, I guess I would say …
“I think we forget that Jordan lost in the playoffs, and he lost multiple times. Before the 90s, he lost in the playoffs about every year. So it’s not like he was undefeated, but if I had to pick a guy that just did everything the right way, I’d probably have to say Demetrious Johnson. (He) defended the belt all those times, always was so well prepared, his performances got better as he went on in his title reign. No hiccups, no mistakes, no nothing, and I think he’s one of those guys.”
But while Cormier held up “Mighty Mouse” as one of the sport’s all-time greats, he said putting one guy over and above the rest is a tricky task, with a number of fighters all holding legitimate credentials to be considered the best to ever do it. And when it comes to compiling a definitive shortlist of the greatest fighters in the sport’s history, “DC” says his name should be on it.
“I think when you start thinking about in MMA, I don’t think it’s just about one guy,” he admitted. “I think you’ve got to look at people as a whole, and there’s going to be about five or six guys that are going to sit at the top of this sport for a long time, and I think I’m one of those guys.”
Daniel Cormier says there is no 'Michael Jordan of MMA': 'I don't think it's just about one guy'