By Michael Owens
Daniel Cormier has an opponent for UFC 170.
Pat Cummins, a 4-0, two-time All-American wrestler from Penn State University will be the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix winner’s new dance partner next Saturday night.
After the announcement of Rashad Evans’s leg injury yesterday it seemed unlikely that Joe Silva and co. would be able to come up with a high-level opponent to replace the former light heavyweight champ. Of course, serial short-notice volunteer Chael Sonnen threw his hat into the ring but the UFC was not having any of that. The big-money TUF coach’s fight with Wanderlei Silva was too high profile to jeapordise. It looked like DC was going to be off the card.
As it turned out, the UFC matchmaking team could not find a high-level opponent on short notice. They could find an opponent though. One they had to call while he was working at a coffee shop to offer him the fight.
Cummins has not had a lengthy MMA career and the number of fights he has managed to fit in was reduced when he was forced to serve jail time in 2010 after being sentenced for a 2008 burglary charge. He last fought for the Sparta Combat League, earning a first round submission in May 2013. It was his fourth stoppage in four fights in a career that began in December 2010. He had previously fought in Strikeforce and Pro Elite.
Cummins has boasted that he is a better wrestler than the former Olympian and has made former Olympian cry on the mat before, but that’s all hot air. In reality, if Cormier loses it will probably be the biggest upset in UFC history. At least the barista doesn’t seem to be overawed by the prospect of such a daunting task.
