Before the action gets underway on Saturday night, Daniel Cormier and several others were tasked with shining a light on some of the promotion’s under the radar stars.
UFC 315 sees the Octagon return to the Bell Center in Montreal, where in the main event of the evening, Belal Muhammad is confident that he’ll stop Jack Della Maddalena to defend the welterweight title.
With two title fights topping the card, Cormier is set to call the action on May 10 alongside Jon Anik and Dominick Cruz, who replaces Joe Rogan.
The UFC’s official Morning Weigh-In Show featured Cormier and several others debating a topic that required them all to draft up a top five list.
This time around, their chosen subject was the most underrated active fighters on the roster and ‘DC’ didn’t try to avoid some of the top fighters in the promotion.
Daniel Cormier features Alexandre Pantoja, Dricus du Plessis and Jack Della Maddalena in his top most underrated fighters
During the UFC’s Morning Weigh-In Show, Daniel Cormier unveiled his list of the top five most underrated fighters that are currently active on the roster.
Unlike some of his colleagues, who went with fighters that are yet to reach the top level, the UFC Hall of Famer picked five big names who have all achieved success inside the Octagon.
Two UFC champions claimed the top spots on his list with flyweight and middleweight titleholders Alexandre Pantoja and Dricus du Plessis not getting the credit they deserve in Cormier’s opinion.
Pantoja doesn’t receive tons of recognition when he’s not fighting despite his impressive run in the promotion whilst in du Plessis’ case, he has been underestimated throughout his entire UFC career.
Cormier followed the champions with two middleweights who similarly to du Plessis, might not get showered with praise because their fighting styles aren’t always the most attractive.
Reinier de Ridder and Anthony Hernandez are both climbing the ranks at 185 pounds with impressive win streaks, so while ‘DC’ believes that they deserve more of a spotlight, they’re both on their way to doing that.
Finally, Cormier rounded out his list with one of the stars of UFC 315 this weekend, who is a sizable underdog in the biggest fight of his career to date.
Jack Della Maddalena has been very impressive throughout his welterweight rise, but many believe that Belal Muhammad will be a step too far for him at this stage of his career.
Cormier clearly believes that fans are not giving the challenger his dues ahead of the main event.
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UFC commentator Laura Sanko had no current champions but one similarity to Daniel Cormier’s list
Daniel Cormier’s fellow UFC commentator, Laura Sanko, also put forward a list but hers had a very different approach.
Whereas Cormier’s list had notable names who haven’t gotten enough credit for their wins and skillsets, Sanko’s list was more geared towards fighters who haven’t necessarily had those opportunities to prove how good they are just yet.
She also had Reinier de Ridder on her list, who recently defeated Bo Nickal at UFC Des Moines, along with Grant Dawson, Chase Hooper, Youssef Zalal and Steve Garcia.
Din Thomas, who regularly chimes in during the UFC’s PPV broadcasts, had Mauricio Ruffy, Aljamain Sterling, Marcus McGhee, Nazim Sadykhov and Norma Dumont on his.