Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier is confident he knows who will be placed opposite lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev next time out.
Makhachev is awaiting his second matchup of 2025, having retained possession of the 155-pound gold courtesy of a submission victory over Renato Moicano at UFC 311 this past January.
Because of Arman Tsarukyan’s weight miss prior to that event, resulting in Moicano’s late-notice opportunity, the Armenian is seemingly out of the running.
That’s left featherweight champ Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira as two leading candidates. But while both have pushed for the shot publicly, “DC” thinks it will go to another high-profile name.
During the latest episode of his Funky and the Champ podcast alongside Ben Askren, Cormier predicted that ex-interim titleholder Justin Gaethje will get the shot on the strength of his recent victory over Rafael Fiziev.
“I honestly believe that’s who is going to fight for the belt. I believe it’s going to be Gaethje,” Cormier said. “If I’m team Makhachev, I’m asking for Justin Gaethje because that’s a big-name fight. It’s the guy that carries a lot of name recognition. I think that’s going to be the fight if I’m being honest with you.”
Gaethje, 36, has previously fallen short of the undisputed crown on two occasions. He was submitted by both Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira.
