UFC 210: Beating ‘boogieman’ Anthony Johnson is Daniel Cormier’s chance to prove people wrong (again)

For whatever reason, some fight fans find it real easy to hate on current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight champion, Daniel Cormier.

No stranger to the boo birds, “DC” says he has learned to let them slide off his chest and not let it get to him. It’s a love-hate relationship that goes back to his rivalry with Jon Jones, a fan favorite.

Still, Cormier says at the end of the day, he gets the job done inside the cage and defeating Anthony Johnson for a second time at this weekend’s (Sat., April 8, 2017) UFC 210 event in Buffalo, New York, is simply another chance to prove people wrong.

“Initially, the boos bothered me,” Cormier told UFC.com. “But I’ve come to realize that it’s just part of the game. I can only control what I can control. People can love me or hate me. But they cannot deny that when I go into the cage, I fight hard. Most of the time, that’s enough to get my hand raised at the end. I sleep well at night because I know that I bust my ass, day in and day out. And I do the right things. This fight is just another opportunity to prove people wrong,” said the 205-pound champion.

“Anthony is the boogieman,” he said. “People love the way that he fights. They love to watch him knockout people. They love that aggressive, striking style. But I do like beating ‘Rumble’ because people make him out to be something that I truly don’t believe he is,” said Cormier, who reiterated that he is not afraid of what Johnson brings to the table.

“I’m not afraid of him in any way, shape or form. There’s nothing about Anthony Johnson that scares me. You look at other fighters and it was clear they were terrified of Anthony. You won’t see that from me.”

In fact, even the UFC marketing department showed Johnson — the challenger — more love on the UFC 210 poster, which depicts “Rumble” towering over Cormier. It’s a move that didn’t sit too well with “DC.”

“It bothered me a little,” Cormier said. “The challenger looming over the champ to take what’s his. I get it. But I just think they could have put a little more creativity into the poster.”

While people are enamored with Johnson’s vicious fighting style, Cormier wants to remind everyone that he already has a win over the fearsome striker, choking him out at UFC 187 to win the strap. A repeat of that performance should be enough to remind combat sports fans why Cormier is at the head of the table.

“A lot of times, you have these guys go on amazing runs and everybody pays attention to them,” he said. “That’s happening for ‘Rumble’ right now. But at the same time, people are forgetting about what I’ve done.”

For whatever reason, some fight fans find it real easy to hate on current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight champion, Daniel Cormier.

No stranger to the boo birds, “DC” says he has learned to let them slide off his chest and not let it get to him. It’s a love-hate relationship that goes back to his rivalry with Jon Jones, a fan favorite.

Still, Cormier says at the end of the day, he gets the job done inside the cage and defeating Anthony Johnson for a second time at this weekend’s (Sat., April 8, 2017) UFC 210 event in Buffalo, New York, is simply another chance to prove people wrong.

“Initially, the boos bothered me,” Cormier told UFC.com. “But I’ve come to realize that it’s just part of the game. I can only control what I can control. People can love me or hate me. But they cannot deny that when I go into the cage, I fight hard. Most of the time, that’s enough to get my hand raised at the end. I sleep well at night because I know that I bust my ass, day in and day out. And I do the right things. This fight is just another opportunity to prove people wrong,” said the 205-pound champion.

“Anthony is the boogieman,” he said. “People love the way that he fights. They love to watch him knockout people. They love that aggressive, striking style. But I do like beating ‘Rumble’ because people make him out to be something that I truly don’t believe he is,” said Cormier, who reiterated that he is not afraid of what Johnson brings to the table.

“I’m not afraid of him in any way, shape or form. There’s nothing about Anthony Johnson that scares me. You look at other fighters and it was clear they were terrified of Anthony. You won’t see that from me.”

In fact, even the UFC marketing department showed Johnson — the challenger — more love on the UFC 210 poster, which depicts “Rumble” towering over Cormier. It’s a move that didn’t sit too well with “DC.”

“It bothered me a little,” Cormier said. “The challenger looming over the champ to take what’s his. I get it. But I just think they could have put a little more creativity into the poster.”

While people are enamored with Johnson’s vicious fighting style, Cormier wants to remind everyone that he already has a win over the fearsome striker, choking him out at UFC 187 to win the strap. A repeat of that performance should be enough to remind combat sports fans why Cormier is at the head of the table.

“A lot of times, you have these guys go on amazing runs and everybody pays attention to them,” he said. “That’s happening for ‘Rumble’ right now. But at the same time, people are forgetting about what I’ve done.”