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Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier: The Greatest Hits in Their War of Words

As if Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier, Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Dominick Cruz, Tim Kennedy and Cat Zingano weren’t enough reasons to tune into UFC 178 on Sept. 27, the two fighters in the main event just gave you one more:

But the MGM Grand Hotel lob…

As if Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier, Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Dominick Cruz, Tim Kennedy and Cat Zingano weren’t enough reasons to tune into UFC 178 on Sept. 27, the two fighters in the main event just gave you one more:

But the MGM Grand Hotel lobby wasn’t home to the first confrontational moment these two men have shared—it was just home to the first physical one. Long before the challenger put his hands on the champion’s throat or Jones threw punches at a downed Cormier, they participated in what can easily be considered as one of the best war of words in MMA history. 

Let your eyes guide you through the highlights.

 

Cormier’s UFC 173 Post-Fight Interview 

Though Cormier and Jones may have shared harsher words about each other prior to Cormier’s dominant performance against Dan Henderson, they meant almost nothing up until this point. After two one-sided victories as a light heavyweight, the matchup against Jones the former Olympian had long since dreamed of was closer than ever at coming to fruition. 

Considering Alexander Gustafsson was next in line for a title shot against the reigning pound-for-pound king, Cormier was poised to surgically repair his bothersome knee while he waited around for his next opponent to surface from a crowded light heavyweight division. 

As fate would have it, Gustafsson would develop a bothersome knee of his own, effectively preventing the Swedish fighter from challenging for the title and opening the door for Cormier to step in.

 

Jones Reaches Out to His Daughter 

According to Dana White, the UFC president could overhear Cormier’s daughter shouting in the background during the phone call to offer Cormier the fight. She was sure her dad would be the champion of the world.

Soon after both men agreed to step into the cage together, Jones took to a daughter of his own to let Cormier know how confident the champion and his family were about where the strap would reside on Sept. 28. 

 

Cormier Gets Creative on Instagram, Jones Responds

Cormier edited a picture, superimposing himself onto a photo of what is likely the champion’s fight against Gustafsson at UFC 165. He posted the photo in response to Jones’ decision to publicize a cut he developed during a sparring session in preparation for his next title defense. He captioned the photo with this:

September 27th I’m gonna put so many of these on [your] face @jonnybones. I can’t wait everyday I’m dreaming and thinking of you. And I’m gonna take [you] down and grind my elbow into that cut you got today. Put a bullseye on that thing. Some things should remain private. DC

Just hours later, the champion took to the same social media platform to share his sentiments on why his newest challenger is anything but. After facing challengers like Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Lyoto Machida, Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort and Glover Teixeira, Jones doesn’t think the Olympic wrestler has anything new to offer.

 

The Aftermath of the Infamous Brawl

Here we are. The war of words suddenly became something completely different. As if it wasn’t obvious before, the animosity is real—these dudes really, really don’t like each other. 

Able to back up what he said he’d be able to accomplish against his Olympic-level challenger, Jones signed into his Twitter account to gloat over his accomplishments in the brief scuffle. 

Cormier couldn’t let Jones have the last word.

With Nevada State Athletic Commission sanctions pending, here’s hoping this war reverts back to its verbal origins. If there is any more physicality without leather gloves on their hands and a referee within close proximity, this could be the most anticipated fight that never happens. 

 

Kristian Ibarra is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report. He also serves as the sports editor at San Diego State University’s student-run newspaper, The Daily Aztec. Follow him on Twitter at @Kristian_Ibarra for all things MMA.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Paul Heyman: Lesnar Was ‘Ready, Willing, Able’ to Fight Fedor

Perhaps the most colossal megafight that never came to fruition in mixed martial arts was the mythical matchup of Brock Lesnar vs. Fedor Emelianenko.
According to Lesnar’s longtime friend and on-screen advocate Paul Heyman, Lesnar was gearing up …

Perhaps the most colossal megafight that never came to fruition in mixed martial arts was the mythical matchup of Brock Lesnar vs. Fedor Emelianenko.

According to Lesnar’s longtime friend and on-screen advocate Paul Heyman, Lesnar was gearing up for the fight against “The Last Emperor” and was beginning to train for the bout with a clean bill of health.

Over the past few years, UFC commissioner Dana White has periodically given media members small windows into the failed negotiations to bring Fedor to the UFC to face Lesnar.

Last June, after UFC on Fox 6, White revealed that a previous encounter he had with Lesnar had gone better than he let on, saying:

When I was talking about doing that big Dallas Texas stadium show it was going to be Brock Lesnar versus Fedor. Remember when I met with him and I said it didn’t get well? It actually did go well. It went well and then Fedor’s dad died, he wanted to fight Fedor.

On Monday’s MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Heyman reiterated why the bout was essentially scrapped after the wheels were in motion for the two heavyweights to collide, saying: “Fedor’s father passed away and Fedor lost all desire and motivation to fight.”

Heyman said it was the one fight at the time that Lesnar was willing to get back in the cage for, and that the former UFC heavyweight champion was “ready, willing, able and already starting pre-training camp.”

Heyman also elaborated on Lesnar’s condition going into the bout with Overeem, saying:

He had a clean bill of health, finally. Brock was not ready for the Overeem fight, and I think that’s fairly obvious. A liver kick, well placed, will drop any human being on the face of this planet. A liver kick from Alistair Overeem, at that size and weight—no matter how he achieved it—is going to drop any human being. … Brock was unhealthy walking into that fight with Alistair Overeem.

As the old adage goes, hindsight is 20/20, and Heyman acknowledged that Lesnar wasn’t in tune with how his diverticulitis was impacting his MMA career, saying:

I don’t think that Brock has ever truly understood nor accepted until he got past it—the severity of the illness that took him down. … Brock, once he got past the Overeem fight, had all these treatments, switched treatments and doctors and finally got a clean bill of health.

It wouldn’t be a rotation around the sun for the MMA world without discussion of if and when Lesnar will fight again inside the Octagon.  He currently is working a part-time schedule with WWE, with his appearances revolving around the handful of biggest shows of the year for the company.  Heyman didn’t think the door was completely closed for a potential return to fighting for Lesnar, coyly saying:

If a change of circumstance happens, and it’s a no-brainer to get Brock back into the cage, I’m sure it’s something he would consider. At this moment, it’s not a topic of conversation because things are going so well in WWE.

We’ve known for quite some time that the fight was sought after by Dana White and the UFC. And we learned last year that Fedor’s retirement was the main driver for us not getting to see it happen.  

But Heyman’s comments on The MMA Hour illustrate a Lesnar who was free of diverticulitis and was getting ready for what could have been the biggest drawing fight ever.  

The new information lends itself to the idea that Lesnar still does have the drive to compete and will someday want to satisfy that urge to test his mettle in the UFC.  

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Predicting the Biggest UFC Fights of 2015

UFC fans are sitting pretty.
Even through the first eight months of the year, fans have already been fortunate enough to watch Renan Barao cement his dominance with a one-sided TKO victory against Urijah Faber in February, only to have T.J. Dillashaw p…

UFC fans are sitting pretty.

Even through the first eight months of the year, fans have already been fortunate enough to watch Renan Barao cement his dominance with a one-sided TKO victory against Urijah Faber in February, only to have T.J. Dillashaw put a jackhammer to Barao’s credibility as the champion with an even more one-sided five-round beating in May. 

They’ve been fortunate enough to continue to watch Ronda Rousey ascend into heights that only Jon Jones, Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre have ever reached in the UFC with first-round TKOs against Sara McMann and Alexis Davis.

And the fortune won’t end there—they still get to watch Chris Weidman defend his title against Vitor Belfort, Anthony Pettis step into the cage with Gilbert Melendez, and pretty much all of UFC 178 among other bouts. 

While 2014 has been and will remain to be great, it’s only here to set up one thing: 2015. 

Scroll on to see my predictions for the biggest UFC fights for 2015. The fights are listed from least exciting to most exciting (spoiler, they’re all still really exciting). Only bouts that stand a realistic chance of occurring within the next year will be considered—so don’t expect Chuck Liddell to make a comeback or have any spot on this list. 

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NSAC, UFC to Investigate Jones-Cormier Incident

The big news out of Las Vegas Monday afternoon was the brawl that broke out at the MGM Grand between UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and his challenger in the UFC 178 main event, Daniel Cormier, during the kickoff press conference for the event. And though this unfortunate incident lit up social media outlets and message boards around the sports world, it wasn’t the kind of event that the leading brand in mixed martial arts wants to see. “This is certainly not a proud moment for the UFC organization,” said Kirk Hendrick, the UFC’s Chief Legal Officer. “We expect more from ou … Read the Full Article Here

The big news out of Las Vegas Monday afternoon was the brawl that broke out at the MGM Grand between UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and his challenger in the UFC 178 main event, Daniel Cormier, during the kickoff press conference for the event. And though this unfortunate incident lit up social media outlets and message boards around the sports world, it wasn’t the kind of event that the leading brand in mixed martial arts wants to see. “This is certainly not a proud moment for the UFC organization,” said Kirk Hendrick, the UFC’s Chief Legal Officer. “We expect more from ou … Read the Full Article Here

Yoel Romero Is a Middleweight Title Dark Horse

Chris Weidman’s busy defending his title. Anderson Silva’s busy preparing for his comeback. Vitor Belfort’s busy brushing off his critics. Luke Rockhold’s busy vying to replace Belfort as one of his biggest critics.
Meanwhile, UFC middleweight and form…

Chris Weidman’s busy defending his title. Anderson Silva’s busy preparing for his comeback. Vitor Belfort‘s busy brushing off his critics. Luke Rockhold‘s busy vying to replace Belfort as one of his biggest critics.

Meanwhile, UFC middleweight and former Olympic wrestler Yoel Romero is busy doing his own thing: training to prove that he’s capable of beating anybody at 185 pounds as the division’s dark-horse title contender. 

Romero spent a majority of his life as a wrestler—preparing for the 2000 Summer Olympics in freestyle competition. He made it all the way into the final match before losing to Adam Saitiev and was forced to take home the silver medal. 

After grappling for most of his life, Romero was finally able to let his hands go in 2009 when he stepped away from the wrestling mat and into the cage against Sascha Weinpolter. The fight lasted 48 seconds before Weinpolter had taken enough punishment from Romero.

Surprisingly enough, the former Olympian seemed to have more interest in striking than taking the fight to the mat. 

The Cuban native fighter would amass three more TKO victories before falling victim to a more seasoned and heavy-handed Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante. It wouldn’t be too long before Romero was back to his winning ways—he authored three more TKOs in four victories after the loss to Feijao and joining the UFC. 

Now, just three months removed from the first decision victory the 37-year-old fighter has ever seen, Romero is set to take on fellow rising middleweight Tim Kennedy.

Having already stepped into the cage with the likes of Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Rockhold, Robbie Lawler and Michael Bisping, it’s no secret that Kennedy is the more experienced cage-fighter. 

But with an impeccable wrestling pedigree and seven TKO victories in eight wins and nine total fights, experience may not matter as much—especially considering Kennedy may likely face some issues imposing his grind-to-victory style against an elite grappler like Romero. 

Romero’s here to make his way to the top. And he wants to get there fast, because sitting on the wrong side of 30 doesn’t bode well for most fighters, regardless of how many fights they’ve had or not. 

Currently sitting outside of the UFC’s top-10 middleweight ranks, Romero has a chance to make waves and seat himself closer to a title shot with a decisive victory over Kennedy, who currently sits at No. 6.

Beyond his UFC 178 matchup with Kennedy, Romero’s style bodes well against most of the middleweight fighters currently sitting in the top 10. That includes the middleweight king, who may not find it as easy to outwrestle the Olympian for any portion of a five-round tilt. 

 

Kristian Ibarra is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report. He also serves as the sports editor at San Diego State University’s student-run newspaper, The Daily Aztec. Follow him on Twitter at @Kristian_Ibarra for all things MMA.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

5 UFC Rematches We’d Love to See

Sequels have their place in Hollywood—they have their place in MMA, too.
Because for every Batman Begins that we may get, there’s a The Dark Knight out there waiting to be filmed. Because it’s possible to build just as good of a Godfather&nb…

Sequels have their place in Hollywood—they have their place in MMA, too.

Because for every Batman Begins that we may get, there’s a The Dark Knight out there waiting to be filmed. Because it’s possible to build just as good of a Godfather movie without Marlon Brando. Because watching Arnold Schwarzenegger play a robot sent from the future to save the human race was just as exciting. 

Because for as exciting as it was to watch two fighters use fists, elbows, feet and knees to paint each other black, blue and red all over, it’s even more exciting to watch them do it a second—or third—time.

Scroll on to see what fights made the cut on the list of rematches we’d love to see.

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