Daniel Cormier believes beating Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title at UFC 226 will put him in rarified air when it comes to his position in MMA history.

Cormier (20-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC), the UFC light heavyweight champion who moves up to face Miocic (18-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) in the July 7 pay-per-view headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, can become the fourth fighter in UFC history to claim titles in two different weight classes, and the second to do it simultaneously.

Current UFC lightweight champ Conor McGregor is the only other fighter to own belts from two weight classes at the same time, and although that position was short-lived, “The Notorious” will forever live in the record books for it. Cormier feels his accomplishment would be greater than the Irishman, though, because the heavyweight and 205-pound divisions arguably have more historical significance than any other in the sport.

As Cormier said on the “Believe You Me” podcast with fellow UFC fighter Michael Bisping, though, it won’t be an easy task.

“If I can go and accomplish this thing that’s so rare and so far left, yes, I should be in the conversation,” Cormier said. “But not only one of the greatest to do it, the greatest to ever do it. Not just one of, but the conversation for the best fighter of all time. I truly believe that, because it’s such a massive accomplishment.”

Cormier and Miocic are both coming off defenses of their respective titles at UFC 220 earlier this month. After the event concluded, UFC President Dana White expressed his desire to see the two champions face off later this year, but the idea was met with some resistance.

“DC,” who started his career as a heavyweight and went 13-0, said he wasn’t particularly interested in going back up, especially with the return of injury-plagued American Kickboxing Academy teammate Cain Velasquez looming. Cormier said he was genuine when he dismissed the idea of a Miocic matchup, but then the wheels started to go in motion.

“I was dead serious when I said I had no interest in that fight, but Dana White and the UFC, they have ways of making things happen that they want to happen,” Cormier said. “When they started really trying to make the fight happen, it became very difficult for me to say no. … I spoke to Cain. Cain said to me, ‘I don’t think they’re going to give me a title shot right away. But this is such a huge opportunity, I think you should take it. When you win the fight, that’s a bridge we’ll cross when we get there.’”

After talking things over with Velasquez, the idea of not accepting the Miocic fight at UFC 226 seemed preposterous to Cormier. The promotion put no pressure about what he’ll have to do should he take possession of both belts, but Cormier said he’ll have several possible directions.

“I don”t rule out going back to 205,” Cormier said. “We have a ton of options as we’re moving forward. It’s not like I’m limited to the heavyweight division or to the 205-pound division. There are options for me, and none of those options include fighting Cain. There are a ton of ways to work around that.

“There has been no talk of me giving up the light heavyweight championship,” he continued. “Not at all. Dana even said to me, ‘If you win the fight and you vacate, whatever. I just think it’s such a great fight, we need to make it.’ I was like, ‘OK.’ They’ve never talked to me about vacating the title.”

As far as the fight itself goes, Cormier said he knows beating Miocic won’t be easy. Miocic’s dominant win over Francis Ngannou at UFC 220 broke the longstanding record for most consecutive UFC heavyweight title defenses, and Miocic has every intention of further extending his reign.

Cormier believes he has what it takes to solve the Miocic mystery, though. He said his style is problematic for the champ, and he intends on showing why.

“He’s a very tough guy, very durable, very well rounded,” Cormier said. “He can do everything. There’s no glaring weakness in his fighting style. It’s just when they made me the offer it was like, ‘Oh, this seems pretty good.’ I’ve always felt it’s a good fight stylistically for me. A guy like Luke Rockhold would give me trouble because he’s a kicker. Those are the guys I struggle with more. Essentially I wrestle, and I box, and that’s what Stipe Miocic does.”

For more on UFC 226, visit the UFC Rumors section of the site.