Daniel Cormier named 2019 ESPYS MMA Fighter of the Year

Daniel Cormier is riding high going into UFC 241 and he now has one more thing to celebrate.

Cormier is set to put his heavyweight gold on the line against Stipe Miocic in a rematch. In their first encounter back in July 2018, Cormier knocked out Miocic in the first round to capture the UFC heavyweight title. They’ll run it back inside the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on Aug. 17.

The ESPY Awards represent a symbol of excellence in sports. The inaugural “MMA Fighter of the Year” award was given out earlier tonight (July 10). Daniel Cormier went up against “champ-champs” Amanda Nunes and Henry Cejudo as well as interim middleweight title holder Israel Adesanya, but he won the award.

Congrats @dc_mma. The UFC heavyweight champion was just named the ESPYS first-ever MMA fighter of the year. He beat out a strong field that included Cejudo, Nunes and Adesanya. pic.twitter.com/IrtxdNgQ2K

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 10, 2019

The win over Miocic helped cement Cormier’s legacy even further. At the time, “DC” was the reigning light heavyweight champion. He became just the second fighter in UFC history to hold two titles simultaneously. He also defended his heavyweight title against Derrick Lewis at UFC 230 while still holding light heavyweight gold. Cormier had to vacate his 205-pound championship ahead of UFC 232, but no one can take away what “DC” accomplished in 2018.

Cormier’s victory may not come as a surprise to many. After all, the heavyweight ruler earned the BJPenn.com “Fighter of the Year” award for 2018.

Do you agree with Daniel Cormier’s ESPY award win? Sound off in the comments.