Daniel Cormier still ‘missing time’ from UFC 214, not ready to re-watch Jones fight

Daniel Cormier is still putting the pieces together of where things went wrong against Jon Jones at UFC 214.

Daniel Cormier is still, without a doubt, one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world and one of the greatest light heavyweights to ever lace up the gloves. But the former Olympian took a big fall against Jon Jones at UFC 214, losing via TKO in the biggest fight of his career.

Cormier, who ruled the light heavyweight throne in Jones’ absence, started off well in the early rounds but caught a devastating left head kick in the third. That’s when ‘Bones’, who turned 30 last month, turned up the pressure and brutalized Cormier with ground-and-pound, becoming the first man to finish ‘DC’ inside the Octagon.

The American Kickboxing Academy product is still confused about what happened during the fight and says he isn’t ‘emotionally’ ready to re-watch the footage.

“Right now, so far, I’m still kind of playing the guessing game, as to how the fight was going and how everything played out,” Cormier told Ariel Helwani on a recent edition of The MMA Hour (h/t Shaun Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting). “Because I asked people around me, like my coaches and my friends, they’ll talk to me about the fight, and from what everybody tells me, I think watching the fight would probably do more harm than good, because they were saying that we were fighting pretty even up until the kick, and I think it would maybe disappoint me.

“I’m not sure I’m ready for that emotionally yet, to watch that, especially if they are telling me the truth in regards to how the fight was going.”

Cormier broke down in tears in the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, who says he shouldn’t have interviewed the former champ after such a brutal knockout loss. Cormier, however, holds no ill will towards the longtime UFC commentator and admits that he is still ‘missing time’ from UFC 214.

“I don’t hold any ill will towards [Rogan],” Cormier said. “I think he was doing his job. I don’t hold any ill will towards John McCarthy either. John McCarthy gave me plenty of opportunities to stay in this fight. I couldn’t. The Joe Rogan interview, I don’t even know what happened. I still haven’t seen it, and honestly — man, I’ll be honest with you, I’m still missing time. Like, I don’t remember any of that.

“I don’t remember leaving the Octagon. Some of these photos where I was crying and I was hugging Bob (Cook), I don’t remember any of that. I remember being in the back — I feel like I came out of a fog. Like, I remember when I was in the back, they said ‘you have to go to the hospital.’ I’m like, for what? I just am still missing time. I’m missing probably, I don’t know, 10 minutes. I talked to Dana (White) and I said, ‘I’m sorry if I pushed you,’ because I remember they said I pushed somebody.”

Cormier, who also lost to Jones in 2015, told Rogan that his rivalry with the pound-for-pound great is over, and wished him the best in the future.

“I’ve never once questioned the type of competitor that he is,” Cormier said of Jones. “He’s a fantastic competitor, and I just hope that at this point, now that he has the belt back, and he’s the UFC champion again, and the limelight will be brighter than ever, that he can handle it. I really do wish him the best in that sense.”

If Cormier decides to retire from competition, the California-based talent could switch to a full-time career in broadcasting. Cormier is the co-host of UFC Tonight and is one of the best commentators and analysts in the game.

Daniel Cormier is still putting the pieces together of where things went wrong against Jon Jones at UFC 214.

Daniel Cormier is still, without a doubt, one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world and one of the greatest light heavyweights to ever lace up the gloves. But the former Olympian took a big fall against Jon Jones at UFC 214, losing via TKO in the biggest fight of his career.

Cormier, who ruled the light heavyweight throne in Jones’ absence, started off well in the early rounds but caught a devastating left head kick in the third. That’s when ‘Bones’, who turned 30 last month, turned up the pressure and brutalized Cormier with ground-and-pound, becoming the first man to finish ‘DC’ inside the Octagon.

The American Kickboxing Academy product is still confused about what happened during the fight and says he isn’t ‘emotionally’ ready to re-watch the footage.

“Right now, so far, I’m still kind of playing the guessing game, as to how the fight was going and how everything played out,” Cormier told Ariel Helwani on a recent edition of The MMA Hour (h/t Shaun Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting). “Because I asked people around me, like my coaches and my friends, they’ll talk to me about the fight, and from what everybody tells me, I think watching the fight would probably do more harm than good, because they were saying that we were fighting pretty even up until the kick, and I think it would maybe disappoint me.

“I’m not sure I’m ready for that emotionally yet, to watch that, especially if they are telling me the truth in regards to how the fight was going.”

Cormier broke down in tears in the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, who says he shouldn’t have interviewed the former champ after such a brutal knockout loss. Cormier, however, holds no ill will towards the longtime UFC commentator and admits that he is still ‘missing time’ from UFC 214.

“I don’t hold any ill will towards [Rogan],” Cormier said. “I think he was doing his job. I don’t hold any ill will towards John McCarthy either. John McCarthy gave me plenty of opportunities to stay in this fight. I couldn’t. The Joe Rogan interview, I don’t even know what happened. I still haven’t seen it, and honestly — man, I’ll be honest with you, I’m still missing time. Like, I don’t remember any of that.

“I don’t remember leaving the Octagon. Some of these photos where I was crying and I was hugging Bob (Cook), I don’t remember any of that. I remember being in the back — I feel like I came out of a fog. Like, I remember when I was in the back, they said ‘you have to go to the hospital.’ I’m like, for what? I just am still missing time. I’m missing probably, I don’t know, 10 minutes. I talked to Dana (White) and I said, ‘I’m sorry if I pushed you,’ because I remember they said I pushed somebody.”

Cormier, who also lost to Jones in 2015, told Rogan that his rivalry with the pound-for-pound great is over, and wished him the best in the future.

“I’ve never once questioned the type of competitor that he is,” Cormier said of Jones. “He’s a fantastic competitor, and I just hope that at this point, now that he has the belt back, and he’s the UFC champion again, and the limelight will be brighter than ever, that he can handle it. I really do wish him the best in that sense.”

If Cormier decides to retire from competition, the California-based talent could switch to a full-time career in broadcasting. Cormier is the co-host of UFC Tonight and is one of the best commentators and analysts in the game.