(What, me worry? | Photo via MMA Weekly)
As confident as Daniel Cormier is ahead of his UFC 166 bout against Roy Nelson, there appears to be at least one thing that concerns the former Olympic wrestler about his opponent. “The thing about the beard is it doesn’t seem to be well-kept, so I’m going to request that there’s a rubber band in it and that it comes straight down,” Cormier told fans assembled in Milwaukee last Friday for the UFC Fight Club Q&A session he took part in.
According to MMA Junkie, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which will regulate UFC 166 does have a rule stating that “each contestant must be clean and present a tidy appearance.” Like him or not, no one can ever claim that Nelson presents an appearance anywhere near “clean” or “tidy.”
Cormier seems to be implying that he’ll ask the Texas commission to intercede and ensure Nelson’s tidy appearance. “Also, I’m going to ask that they put his hair in two plaits off to the side,” Cormier says, seemingly describing pig tails.
“Part it down the middle, plait it on the sides. I don’t want it all in my face.”
We don’t yet know if Cormier has filed a formal request with the Texas commission or whether he is just trying to get inside of Nelson’s head. If Cormier does file a request with regulators to style Nelson’s hair a particular way, he’ll be following in the foot steps of Gray Maynard’s camp who complained about Clay Guida’s wild mane before they fought in 2012.
As much as we love Cormier and Maynard, complaining about another man’s hair and trying to control how he combs it before facing him in a fight is a punk move. Only time will tell if this distracts or helps motivate Nelson. Will friendly Santa or angry Santa show up to fight Cormier, is what we’re saying.
Cormier also told fans that he is definitely planning to drop down to light heavyweight after the Nelson fight. He says he’s walking around shy of 230 pounds these days. Do you think the lost weight will help him or hurt against Nelson, nation? For his part, Cormier thinks it will help but is also taking a longer view.
“I’ve got two young kids now, and I want to try and live a little healthier,” he explained.
“I was kind of opposed to dieting for a long time, and now I’m doing those types of things.”