There have been many pay-per-views this year for the UFC, but few have as much mainstream appeal as Saturday’s UFC 182 event headlined by the Light Heavyweight Championship fight between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier.
Jones and Cormier have a similar background and were friends for many years. After Cormier dropped weight and made it clear he was coming after Jones and the light heavyweight title, the friendship ended and the rivalry began.
For months, these two men have torn each other down publicly and now have the chance to prove their points in the Octagon.
Here is the full UFC 182 fight card, the predicted winner for every fight and a quick preview of the main event.
Quick Preview of Jones vs. Cormier
The UFC has saved the best for last in 2014. The battle between Jones and Cormier has been brewing for months. Jones was originally supposed to fight Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 178, but he pulled out with an injury and was replaced by Cormier.
Shortly after Cormier was awarded the fight, Jones was forced to pull out with an injury as well.
The fight was rescheduled for Saturday in the UFC 182 main event, but the two men have talked trash since the original fight was made. With over four months of material to build from in video packages, including a brawl at a press conference, hardcore and casual MMA fans alike are intrigued by this potential Fight of the Year candidate.
To show the true animosity between the two men, the trash-talking has even spilled over into the Friday weigh-ins, when Jones fold Fox’s America’s Pregame (h/t MMAJunkie.com) that he’d be ready to fight at the scales if necessary. When Cormier heard those comments, he responded to MMAJunkie.com:
I think you have to (keep your emotions in check). What’s the point of fighting on Friday when we’ve got to wait 24 hours to fight on Saturday? Right now, it’s about staying the course and being professional. It will be good to see him in that state.
As Jon says, we take it how it goes. It’s a matter of, ‘How are we going to do this?’ I would prefer to wait until Saturday, but if we had to fight on Friday, it would be OK, I guess.
Even UFC President Dana White can’t hide his excitement:
As great as the pre-hype for the fight has been, fans are even more excited to finally see the two former friends-turned-enemies step inside the Octagon. Both men have a wrestling background, but Cormier’s wrestling experience is far more impressive.
Add in the fact that Cormier has dropped a considerable amount of excessive fat to move down to the light heavyweight division, and he will be faster than ever while still possessing the same amount of power. Jones didn’t win 11 straight fights without knowing how to avoid his opponents’ biggest strengths, but Cormier knows Jones inside and out.
The two fighters are evenly matched in the Octagon and are intellectual equals. The difference in this fight will be the power Cormier possesses. As a former heavyweight star, Cormier has an incredible amount of strength and force behind his punches, and that will be a serious issue for Jones throughout the bout.
If Cormier catches Jones with one of his huge punches, there is little doubt the champion will find himself in serious trouble. After successfully defending the belt seven times, the end of this championship reign appears to be at hand.
Predicted Winner: Cormier via fourth-round TKO.
Stats via UFC.com.
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