FOX analyst Daniel Cormier breaks down UFC on FOX 10's Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Stipe Miocic

Currently ranked as the No. 2 heavyweight fighter in all of MMA, Daniel Cormier will soon make his debut in the 205-pound division. In the meantime, he’ll serve as analyst at this weekend’s UFC on FOX 10 event, and he’s got some thoughts on the evening’s heavyweight co-main event between Gabriel Gonzaga (16-7 MMA, 11-6 UFC) and Stipe Miocic (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC).

“I think this is a good fight,” Cormier told MMAjunkie. “I think it’s one of those classic fights where you have a big heavyweight vs. a smaller, more active heavyweight, and I think that’s what it’s going to boil down to. I think it’s going to be Stipe’s ability to create angles, move his feet, box him up and not allow Gabriel to use his weight on him. If Gabriel is able to use his weight on Stipe, he could have a good night. I think Miocic is a little too quick for that. He’s good at using his feet. He’s very active, and also Gonzaga tends to follow people. He doesn’t really cut off the cage very well. He follows you.

“You go back to the Roy Nelson fight and see how Roy follows Stipe around the cage. You see how easy it was for Stipe to pick him apart. When you break down these fights, watch the feet. Watch Roy Nelson’s feet. When Stipe would step off and take an angle, Roy would have to almost reset, turn his front foot to try and go in the direction that Stipe Miocic was going, and it made him start to follow. Gabriel Gonzaga does the same thing. Sometimes he gets flat-footed.”

The 34-year-old Gonzaga left the UFC in 2010 after struggling through a 3-5 stretch. However, after a year away from the sport, the submission ace returned to the sport and is 5-1 in his past six fights. All five of those victories have come by finish, including consecutive first-round knockout wins over Shawn Jordan and Dave Herman.

Meanwhile, Miocic opened his career with nine straight wins before suffering a September 2012 loss to Stefan Struve. He’s since rebounded with an impressive decision win over Nelson at this past June’s UFC 161 event.

While Gonzaga’s past two wins have both come by first-round knockout, Cormier believes the Brazilian would likely be best served by falling back on his submission skills in the matchup with Miocic.

“His best bet to win this fight would probably be to get it on the ground,” Cormier said. “We haven’t seen Stipe on his back since he got in the UFC, so we don’t know how good he is there. We also do know how good Gabriel Gonzaga is on the ground. I think it would probably be to his advantage to try and slow this fight down and get him down because if it’s a boxing match, Stipe Miocic can box anybody for 15 minutes.”

Featuring a headlining contest between former UFC lightweight champ Benson Henderson and former Strikeforce title holder Josh Thomson, UFC on FOX 10 takes place Saturday at Chicago’s United Center. The evening’s main card airs on FOX following prelims on that air on FOX Sports 1 and stream on UFC Fight Pass.

For the latest on UFC on FOX 10, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.