UFC President Dana White may have made a big promise he can’t keep when he announced Alexander Gustafsson would get the winner of Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira. He certainly hasn’t seemed to realize that, though, as he just announced Daniel Cormier will fight the winner of the purely hypothetical Jones/Teixeira vs. Gustafsson match. Via Twitter:
@FantasyMoneyMan u will see him against the winner of Jones/Glover vs Gus
— Dana White (@danawhite) March 9, 2014
It’s worth noting that Jones vs. Teixeira is not a slam dunk for the long-reigning light heavyweight champ, due to Teixeira’s massive punching power. However, given Jones’ success over the last four years, it’s hard to believe “Bones” wouldn’t get an immediate rematch unless the bout was shockingly, anomalously lopsided. That, however, hasn’t stopped White from flatly, seemingly irrevocably, saying that Gustafsson has the next crack at the light heavyweight belt.
Dana says Gus has next title shot, even vs. Tex.
— Steven Rondina (@srondina) March 8, 2014
Suffice it to say, White is biting off more than he can chew in the promises department by promising Gustafsson a title fight after Jones vs. Teixeira. Flatly saying who will get the winner of that fight? Well, that’s just silly.
Not only that, but Cormier is by no means an established stud at light heavyweight at this point. While his skills are beyond question, questions still linger regarding how they will hold up at light heavyweight, given his difficult weight cut. While he squashed Pat Cummins in a short-notice fight, Cummins was quite literally somebody the UFC found on the street.
Not only that, but Cormier has expressed interest in fighting one more time to legitimately earn a title shot:
“@Brucknerno7: @dc_mma winner of Phil vs Anthony. winner of Shogun vs Hendo. which one?” Anyone bro
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) March 9, 2014
While White has painted a very clear picture, the reality is much more cloudy.
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