Daniel Cormier will defend his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at UFC 192 against Alexander Gustafsson on Saturday night after both weighed in successfully ahead of their clash.
Cormier weighed in at the limit at 205 pounds, while his opponent made the grade at one pound under at 204.
Here’s the official weigh-in and post-event comments, courtesy of the following video from the UFC:
As Dave Doyle of MMAFighting.com notes, Cormier is known for hyping up his opponents ahead of their bouts with aplomb, but the 36-year-old has switched up his tactics in the buildup to his clash with the Swede.
Although the American conceded Gustafsson is a threat, on Monday he admitted he has played down his opponent’s credentials in order to sap The Mauler’s confidence before they step into the Octagon, per Doyle.
In the comments following the weigh-in, Cormier continued this strategy as he threw more barbs at Gustafsson.
According to Damon Martin of Fox Sports, Cormier said: “Best weight cut ever. Tomorrow, I release the chains. I allow Alex to stop worrying about being a fighter. He’s talked about retiring time and time again. Go back to Sweden and become a model.”
By contrast, The Mauler would not be drawn into a war of words with Cormier. Per Martin, he merely said, “You’ve got a new world champion tomorrow.”
Bleacher Report’s own Jonathan Snowden was less than impressed by the pair’s post-event offerings:
Prediction
Anthony Johnson soundly beat Gustafsson in his last outing, knocking him out in just 135 seconds.
It’s difficult to know whether Cormier’s words have affected the 28-year-old, but dwelling on the devastating defeat could produce nerves just as equally as it could drive his hunger to prove himself.
The 6’5″ Swede has the size and reach advantage in the fight, but Cormier has experienced that before in Jon Jones, and Gustafsson is far from Bones’ level.
DC’s wrestling background gives him a huge edge in close quarters, so if he can get in behind The Mauler’s defences and take the fight to the cage or the floor—as he most likely will—then he can expect to win the match relatively easily.
It won’t be over as quickly as Gustafsson’s last bout, but Cormier can take this by TKO in the fourth or fifth round.
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