Daniel Cormier watched the low-key Noche UFC event before turning his attention to Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford, and he knows which he preferred.
A boxing super fight took place on September 13, as Crawford moved up two weight classes to challenge the legendary Alvarez in a Netflix main event at Allegiant Stadium.
Their clash for the undisputed super middleweight title was the most highly anticipated in recent memory, and Crawford emerged victorious over Alvarez to cement his status as an all-time great in the sport.
From the production itself to the high stakes and big stars, the event was widely considered to be boxing at its very best. But if that is the case, one UFC legend continues to see MMA as the more entertaining spectacle.
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Daniel Cormier says MMA is more ‘fun’ than boxing after Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford
Before Crawford and Alvarez shared the ring in Las Vegas, Diego Lopes beat Jean Silva at Noche UFC in Texas, as San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center staged the MMA promotion’s third annual celebration of Mexican Independence Day.
While plenty of combat sports attention was on the boxing that night, there was a decent amount of action to keep MMA-only enthusiasts entertained in ‘The Lone Star State’.
And in fact, commentator Cormier believes the more “fun” moments of September 13 came inside the cage.
“After watching ‘Bud’ fight Canelo, which was a good fight, I realize more and more that MMA is just a much funner sport,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel.
“I know we didn’t have the name recognition on Noche UFC, but I just had a much better time watching the MMA fights (as) opposed to the boxing fights. And that was one of the best fights we could have had in terms of two stars in their primes, relatively, and in the biggest moment.
“It wasn’t a boring fight, but MMA was just much more fun. At times, boxing gets ridiculous — Gervonta Davis is fighting Jake Paul,” Cormier added.
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Daniel Cormier doubts one part of Dana White’s boxing plan
Alvarez vs Crawford marked Dana White’s return to boxing promotion for the first time since Conor McGregor’s ‘Money Fight’ against Floyd Mayweather in 2017.
The UFC CEO is planning to launch Zuffa Boxing in 2026 and has grand ambitions for ‘saving’ the sport. But one aspect of White’s plan has been questioned by Cormier.
“Dana White said he has plans to do a boxing version of the Contender Series in 2026,” Cormier said on ESPN’s Good Guy/Bad Guy show. “He said, ‘The best will fight the best, undefeated guys will fight undefeated guys, so I will build stars and I will put on great fights.’
“Does that work in boxing? … That, to me, sounds like he wants to change more. Because most boxers, especially the good ones, they don’t start seeing real competition until 18, 19, 20-0. Dana’s now saying, ‘I want these guys to fight each other and I want them to do it much sooner.’
“I don’t know, Chael (Sonnen). I don’t know if you can apply that to boxing,” Cormier continued. “Boxing is just different.”