On July 8 at UFC 226, Daniel Cormier cemented himself as one of the best MMA fighters of recent times.

He beat heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic to become only the second person in UFC history to hold titles in two weight classes simultaneously.

DC added Miocic's belt to the light-heavyweight championship he already owns and in the process, became the number one ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world. 

THE FIGHT 

To be honest, he made it look easy too. 

Cormier finished the fight late in the first round, landing a heavy right hand that took Stipe to the canvas. 

He followed that up with some brutal ground and pound, knocking his opponent out cold. 

His performance impressed a lot of people - including fellow light heavyweight fighter - and rival, Alexander Gustafsson. 

The Swede was actually so impressed, that he's come out and praised Cormier, despite being the number one contender to one of his belts. 

GUSTAFSSON'S PRAISE

"He did great. I’m impressed. I was impressed by the way he finished Stipe and how he won the fight," Gustafsson told The MMA Hour, per MMAFighting.com.

"I’m very impressed by the guy, he did great."

In fact, "The Mauler" thinks Cormier can find even more success as a heavyweight fighter, arguing that it suits him better than being a light heavyweight.

"I think he’s better at heavyweight than he is at light heavyweight. I think he’s stronger, he can eat and he doesn’t have to stress about the weight," Gustafsson continued.

"I think he’ll do even better as a heavyweight. I had a feeling he’d win the fight, but just the way he finished [the fight] - it’s probably the wrong thing to say, but he made it look easy."

That's very high praise from the Swedish fighter, who probably won't get a shot a Cormier and his light-heavyweight title belt for quite some time. 

It's looking likely that DC is going to fight Brock Lesnar next, in a heavyweight super fight. 

The Beast crashed Cormier's post-fight celebrations a few weeks ago - so as soon as he's cleared for a return to the Octagon, expect the heavyweight champ to be standing across from him.