Daniel Cormier got to see contrasting fates for combat sports legends this past weekend.
The Triller event on Saturday night saw Evander Holyfield suffer a first-round TKO defeat to Vitor Belfort after getting overwhelmed by the former UFC champion.
Of course, Holyfield stepped in on short notice, but many observers were already harboring concern given his age of 58 and how slow he looked on the pads leading up to the fight.
Luckily for Holyfield, he didn’t take as much damage as many feared, even though he did get knocked down early in the first round.
And while Cormier acknowledged Holyfield looked slow leading up to the fight, he still had hopes that the former boxing champion would come out on top.
What actually happened was “horrible” for Cormier to see.
“I just thought Evander would get it done. And he didn’t,” Cormier said on his ESPN show. “It was sad. It was very sad that these guys — we always talk about our legends go out on their backs — I feel that was the most extreme case that I’ve ever had to see.
“That was horrible to see Holyfield go out in that way.”
Cormier: Some Legends Like Silva Turn Back The Clock
On the flipside, there are legends who are able to turn back the clock and that was displayed in the Triller co-main event when Anderson Silva needed less than a round to knock out Tito Ortiz cold.
“We talk about legends. Not only do our legends fight longer today than they ever have — some of them turn back the clock,” Cormier added. “We saw that with Anderson Silva and we saw that when he beat Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and then knocks out Tito Ortiz with a beautiful hook.
“… How real is this? How real is this Anderson Silva reboot? I’m buying all the stock in Anderson Silva boxing because he looked phenomenal against Tito Ortiz.”
Silva is certainly enjoying a new lease of life ever since returning to boxing this year. Long may the former UFC middleweight king continue to have success.
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