UFC 210: Cormier vs. Johnson 2

Daniel Cormier (18-1-0) vs. Anthony Johnson (22-5-0)

Daniel Cormier and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson meet in Buffalo for a light heavyweight championship match at UFC 210 on Apr. 8.

Daniel Cormier has been UFC’s light heavyweight champion since May 23, 2015, and he will certainly be hoping to leave Buffalo with that title on Apr. 8. That is not going to be an easy task, though. Cormier is going to be facing Anthony Johnson, who he beat to win this championship on that day in May. The match lasted two minutes and 39 seconds and Cormier ended it with a rear-naked choke. Since that fight, Cormier has gone on to win his last three fights. He most recently faced Anderson Silva on Jul. 9, 2016, and he won that fight in a unanimous decision. Johnson, meanwhile, has also won three straight matches. He won by knockout in all three of those fights, with the most recent being Aug. 20, 2016 against Glover Teixeira. With that out of the way let’s take a look at what each of these fighters brings to the table:

Cormier lands 3.77 significant strikes per minute with an accuracy of 48.0 percent. He absorbs 2.05 significant strikes per minute and has a defense rate of 61.0%. That part of his style will need to improve here, as he can’t afford to get pounded by Johnson. Cormier averages 1.93 takedowns per 15 minutes and has a takedown accuracy of 42.0%. He’d be wise to do his best to get Johnson on the mat, where he won the last time these two fought.

Johnson will be hoping to win this fight with his fists, like he has done in each of his past three bouts. He lands 3.30 significant strikes per minute with an accuracy of 46.0 percent. Johnson absorbs 1.65 significant strikes per minute and has a defense rate of 64.0%. Johnson can, however, grapple as well. He averages 2.48 takedowns landed per 15 minutes and has a takedown accuracy of 60.0%. He also defends takedowns with an accuracy of 79.0%, which makes him extra dangerous coming into this one.