UFC president Dana White will get his wish after all.
On Friday it was announced that heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic will compete in a super fight against light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 226 in Las Vegas on July 7 as the headline bout for International Fight Week 2018.
In addition to the champion versus champion fight, Miocic and Cormier will also square off as coaches on the new season of “The Ultimate Fighter” season 27, which will feature undefeated fighters from the lightweight and featherweight divisions.
The shocking news comes just hours after White had teased he had something big in the works for Miocic while hinting that Cormier would be his next opponent.
Prior to this announcement, Cormier had scoffed at the idea of returning to heavyweight not only because he didn’t want to return to the larger weight class but also to avoid a clash with his teammate and friend Cain Velasquez.
“I am a dream chaser. I had a long talk with Cain Velasquez. He told me this is OK,” Cormier said via UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. “He gave me the blessing for the fight. I am gonna return to my original weight.
“I am gonna go out there and I am gonna take out the baddest man on the planet. Not only that, I’m going to be a coach on “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Filming on the reality show is expected to start next week with the debut on FS1 happening on April 18 with the finals for the series likely happening the same week as the fight between Miocic and Cormier.
Miocic is fresh off his five round drubbing of top contender Francis Ngannou while Cormier defeated Volkan Oezdemir by TKO on the same card.
Now the two champions will clash as coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter” before meeting in an epic super fight later this year at UFC 226 in Las Vegas from the T-Mobile Arena.
