Gustafsson: Cormier has great cardio ‘for a fat guy’

Alexander Gustafsson dished out some backhanded compliments in the direction of Daniel Cormier.

Alexander Gustafsson has made his opinion clear on the subject of light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier fighting at heavyweight in July - he’s not for it. He doesn’t want to see the division held up and feels that he deserves another shot at the 205-pound title. But with that being said, Gustafsson definitely respects Cormier’s accomplishments both at 205 and at heavyweight.

As a guest on the Joe Rogan Experience, Gus talked Cormier and lauded his cardio - even if he did make fun of him while giving the compliment (transcribed by MMA Mania):

“This fight against Stipe, if it was against another heavyweight I would probably say Stipe is going to win. But DC is a really good heavyweight, so we will see what happens. He is world class, doesn’t take a step back and he is in your face.

“He’s a badass, but DC is such a competitive guy. He goes for it, in tough situations he eats it and comes right back and does what he does, always. And for being a fat guy, that guy is doing five rounds like nothing. So his conditioning is on top.”

Cormier and Miocic are set to fight for the heavyweight title at UFC 226 in July. Gustafsson’s return hasn’t been nailed down as of yet, but he’s been angling for a fight with Luke Rockhold of late.