Daniel Cormier believes current UFC champions lack star power

The biggest stars in UFC history have pretty much all held a divisional championships.  There are exceptions such as the Diaz brothers, but for the most part UFC stardom has been closely tied to championship belts.  

Looking at the current UFC titleholders, former two-division champion Daniel Cormier doesn’t see a lot of star power.  

“There was a time in the UFC where the champions were absolute stars.  They were blockbusters.  They were must-see attractions,” Cormier said on the Good Guy/Bad Guy podcast.  “It was Anderson Silva.  It was Jon Jones.  It was Conor McGregor.  Every guy that held that belt seemed to warrant you coming and paying attention.  Brock Lesnar.  Cain Velasquez.  Like so many.  BJ Penn.  Great fighters that you had to watch.

“Today, it doesn’t seem so much,” Cormier continued.  “Is there a void of that big star?  Because right now it feels like only Jon Jones and [Alex] Pereira – Pereira and Jon Jones might be the only two champions right now that are completely moving the needle.”

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At the moment, the biggest draws on the UFC roster do not hold titles, and many of them are coming off of loses.  Former bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley is one of the most popular UFC fighters but just lost the bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306.  Former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is an international fan favorite but is coming off back-to-back losses for the first time in his 12-year mixed martial arts career.  There’s also McGregor, who hasn’t fought since 2021 but remains the biggest star in the promotions history.

“Jon Jones, right now, is a proven draw.  He will sell pay-per-views.  Alex Pereira, under the right circumstances, will sell pay-per-views,” Cormier said.  “But when I list these other names to you: Zhang Weili, the 125-pound champion, [Alexandre] Pantoja, Merab Dvalishvili, Ilia Topuria, Islam Makhachev, Belal Muhammad, [Dricus] du Plessis…  I’ve got to tell you, there’s one person who can sell and it’s Jones.”