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“Rumble” Johnson Calls Out D.C. For Nov., Cormier Offers Dec. Fight At UFC 207

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier appears to have self-booked himself a fight with number one contender Anthony “Rumble” Johnson at the year-end UFC pay-per-view event.

D.C. responded to “Rumble” after the knockout artist, who just dispa…

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier appears to have self-booked himself a fight with number one contender Anthony “Rumble” Johnson at the year-end UFC pay-per-view event.

D.C. responded to “Rumble” after the knockout artist, who just dispatched of Glover Texieira with extreme prejudice at the UFC 202: Diaz vs. McGregor 2 mega-event last month, took to social media to try and call out D.C. for a rematch at the November PPV at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

“D.C., I want to fight you in New York City on Nov 12,” Johnson wrote on his official Facebook page. “We got 7.5 weeks to get ready and put on a fight for the fans of New York and the world to remember. It is our time to do battle! When Jon got into trouble and was removed from my title fight, I accepted you as an opponent on 3 weeks notice despite the dramatic change in fight style. You were the better man that night and took the belt. I didn’t demand an immediate rematch, it was well within my rights to do so. I went to the back of the line and fought my way back to the front. To headline the the event in Maddison Square Garden is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Let’s do it! Balls in your court Daniel. Enough of this waiting game that you or UFC is playing!”

The reigning UFC 205-pound champion, Daniel Cormier, fired back at Johnson with the following response, noting that he agrees that he, not Jon Jones, should be next to get a shot at the gold, but calling for fight number two to go down in December at UFC 207 instead of UFC 205 in New York.

“[You] deserve shot. I’m not waiting,” wrote Cormier on his official Twitter page. “Sorry bud, NYC won’t happen. But you can get it again [on] Dec 30th,” wrote D.C., who followed up the response with a hash-tag that read, “Down Goes Rumble.”

Cormier defeated Rumble via unanimous decision to become the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion when the two fought for the opportunity to become the first champion after previous champion Jon Jones was stripped of the title.

Daniel Cormier: Why The Hell Is Jon Jones Still Interim Champ?

Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones has been booked four times, but it’s only happened once for a variety of unfortunate set of circumstances or another, many of which have to do with Jones’ sad string of baffling troubles which seem to be building on one another. That’s left current champion Cormier angling for a bout

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That’s left current champion Cormier angling for a bout with Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, the man whom he beat to originally win the the title at UFC 187 after Jones was arrested for fleeing the scene after hitting a 25-year-old pregnant woman and breaking her arm. “Rumble” has since won three straight bouts by dominating knockout, yet UFC President Dana White recently teased a potential fight between him and Jones.

After he was removed from the main event of UFC 200 and temporarily suspended by USADA for testing positive for estrogen blocker clomiphene and aromatase inhibitor Letrozole metabolites, Jones has recently teased he’d be back sooner than later, and rumors have suggested he only got flagged because he was on Cialis. Even if he does get off and is able to fight, however, Cormier doesn’t want to be scheduled to fight Jones.

He told Brian Stann on SiriusXM (via MMA Fighting) that he can’t believe Jones is still the interim champ, and is adamant any Jones vs. Johnson bout should not be for the interim title because he is healthy:

“Now one thing I completely disagree with, completely – and I don’t care who hears it – why in the hell would Jon still be the interim champion? That makes no sense. That makes absolutely no sense. They should not be fighting for an interim championship. That makes no sense at all. I don’t even know why he would still be the interim champion. His ass was disqualified. Take that freakin’ belt off of him. That’s stupid.

“I hope to God Dana misspoke, because that makes absolutely no sense. They aren’t fighting for some interim title if they fight. They can fight in the main event because it’s a big fight but it’s a fun fight. If they fight, they fight to determine the number one contender it’s not some interim championship fight. That makes no sense at all…You’d have an interim champion defending the interim championship while the actual champion is actually still there. That makes no sense whatsoever.”

Hard to argue against the common sense of that statement, but the UFC has already seen one interim title bout take place this year while Conor McGregor was engrossed in his feud with Nate Diaz. Cormier admitted he needed at least 10-12 weeks to prepare for his next fight, so that put any hope for a true light heavyweight title bout in 2016 on hold.

Jones would still most likely be suspended for the rest of the year even if he does get off with the tainted supplement defense, as fighters like Yoel Romero and Tim Means both received six-month sits for the same.

“DC” and “Rumble” have both agreed that Jones should have to work his way back up, but there will always be those who argue Jones never lost the belt and should therefore always have a clear shot at it until he loses. Which side are you on?

The post Daniel Cormier: Why The Hell Is Jon Jones Still Interim Champ? appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Daniel Cormier: Why The Hell Is Jon Jones Still Interim Champ?

The post Daniel Cormier: Why The Hell Is Jon Jones Still Interim Champ? appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Alexander Gustafsson To Jon Jones: No Immediate Title Shot Upon Return

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD8_zH3PUfw[/embed]

Alexander Gustafsson spent countless months training for Jon Jones before going 25 minutes with him inside the Octagon.

Gustafsson, who recently defeated Jan Blachowicz, believes that the…

Alexander Gustafsson spent countless months training for Jon Jones before going 25 minutes with him inside the Octagon.

Gustafsson, who recently defeated Jan Blachowicz, believes that the former champion should not receive an immediate shot at the title whenever it is he returns to action. Jones failed a pre-fight drug test earlier this year and was removed from a planned championship match with Daniel Cormier.

“It wouldn’t be fair, giving him a title shot,” Gustafsson said earlier this week on The MMA Hour (thanks to MMAFighting for transcribing). “I’m not saying I’m going to get it. I’m just saying, after everything that happened, it’s not fair to other fighters too, who’ve been working their asses off and they’ve been fighting each other. So, not a title shot right away. Just give him a fun fight first and that’s it.”

Gustafsson, meanwhile, stands at an interesting position in the light heavyweight division. He has lost to Jones, Cormier and top contender Anthony Johnson, but has shined vs. the rest of the division.

“I’m up for suggestions (for my next opponent), so why not?” Gustafsson said. “But let’s see what they say. I’m up for suggestions, so whatever they give me, I’m down with. A second fight with Jones, who knows. It’s going to be good though.”

Dana White Considering Jon Jones vs. ‘Rumble’ Title Eliminator

When top-ranked UFC light heavyweight Anthony Johnson knocked out formerly surging contender Glover Teixiera in a mere 13 seconds (highlights) in the co-main event of last weekend’s (Sat., August 20, 2016) UFC 202 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, he was under the impression that he had all but sealed his next shot at champion

The post Dana White Considering Jon Jones vs. ‘Rumble’ Title Eliminator appeared first on LowKick MMA.

When top-ranked UFC light heavyweight Anthony Johnson knocked out formerly surging contender Glover Teixiera in a mere 13 seconds (highlights) in the co-main event of last weekend’s (Sat., August 20, 2016) UFC 202 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, he was under the impression that he had all but sealed his next shot at champion Daniel Cormier.

With three straight knockout wins over Teixeira, Ryan Bader, and Jimi Manuwa, it was easy to understand “Rumble’s” stance. However, that may not end up being the case according to Dana White.

“Rumble” had largely spent the build-up to his UFC 202 co-headliner against Teixeira trying to distance himself from temporarily suspended longtime former champion Jon Jones, whom he was scheduled to face at 2015’s UFC 187 before “Bones” was stripped of the belt for legal trouble, allowing Cormier to come in and beat him for the title. While “Rumble” is certainly deserving of the next title fight on merit alone, White revealed on today’s “UFC Unfiltered” podcast that the promotion is considering a Jones vs. Johnson title eliminator:

“I’m in a weird place. We saw that fight, and it was a great fight. I’ve still got to talk to (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva and see what he thinks. But I’m thinking maybe we do Anthony Johnson vs. Jon Jones to see who gets to fight Daniel Cormier.”

Jones, who is temporarily suspended by the NSAC for two potential USADA anti-doping violations that ruined his UFC 200 main event rematch with Cormier, recently released an Instagram video revealing supposedly “really good” news that would allow him to get back into the Octagon soon. News soon followed that Jones’ failure for two banned estrogen blockers may have been due to Cialis, something that White hinted at.

He couldn’t release any official details, but White did note that Jones shockingly has yet another chance for a comeback, and things are realistically “looking good” for his return:

“I haven’t talked to Jon, but the guy’s got 13 lives. It’s looking good for him. I think he’s got to deal with (the) Nevada (State Athletic Commission) right now and this thing that went down. I can’t say a lot about it because it’s not my place. We’ll see how this thing plays out, but it’s looking good for him.”

As one of the most anticipated bouts in all of MMA – and quite possibly the most at light heavyweight – there’s little question that a Jones vs. ‘Rumble’ match-up would do big business and provide a clear-cut title contender in a division that could only be called a mess due to Jones’ seemingly never-ending troubles outside the cage.

But most wanted to see “Bones” vs. “Rumble” for the official title, and it’s a legitimate question if whether or not Jones will be able to make his way through one training camp, let alone the two he would have to in order to finally realize his long-held rivalry with Cormier.

That’s a lot of variables to fall into place, and it could easily be argued that “Rumble” has done much more than Jones in terms of actual fight accomplishments over the last two years. Jones does own a win over the man who beat “Rumble” in Cormier, however.

If you didn’t think the time-honored UFC 205-pound division was messy enough, it could get a whole lot messier in the coming months, fight fans. Stay tuned.

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UFC 202 Results: Anthony Johnson’s KO Is Great, but Did It Show Anything New?

Anthony Johnson knocking people out is great. It’s just the best.
Some poor guy goes in there, brimming with confidence that he’s The One, that his path to victory is assured and that he won’t be the next highlight on a Rumble reel th…

Anthony Johnson knocking people out is great. It’s just the best.

Some poor guy goes in there, brimming with confidence that he’s The One, that his path to victory is assured and that he won’t be the next highlight on a Rumble reel that’s beginning to grow too long to count. Then the bell rings and Johnson knocks that poor guy out cold in the first or second exchange, pulled off by the ref as he pounds his chest with animal fury, unscathed.

It’s so formulaic at this point that you can see it coming the moment the contract is signed for his next fight. “Anthony Johnson vs. Next Opponent Signed,” reads the headline, and the gears start turning in your head, creating the inevitable knockout GIF and almost willing it into existence.

Then, on fight night, Johnson provides it. Almost every single time.

At UFC 202, it was Glover Teixeira, who’s got a few GIFs of his own floating around out there. As a swaying, weaving hulk of a boxer, he’s repeatedly shown a capacity to take one to give one, and the one he gives usually ends the fight for the one who takes it.

Teixeira was confident this would be the case against Johnson, or at least the outcome suggests as much. He swayed and weaved into range, swatting lightly at Johnson before stepping in. The two clashed briefly, then reset.

They engaged again, and the next time Teixeira had a conscious thought in his head, it was directing him to double-leg the ref as fast as he could manage. An uppercut slipped in on that second exchange, finding Teixeira’s chin and knocking him cold.

Twelve seconds.

Classic Rumble.

But as good as it looks on a highlight reel, it doesn’t tell us much about Johnson’s next move. Now the undisputed, undeniable top contender for Daniel Cormier’s light heavyweight title, it looks like there will be a UFC 187 rematch in the offing by the end of the year. That fight was a back-and-forth affair that ended in a successful Cormier submission, but Johnson had his moments.

Actually, he’s had them in every fight before and since then, and they’re the same moment: Send a man skidding across the octagon at some point, and hope he doesn’t get up. The main issue is that Cormier did get up. A few times. And every time he did, Johnson faded a little bit more until Cormier was on his back, throttling him and turning the unslayable into the slain.

As exciting as Johnson’s UFC 202 finish was, and the ultra-violent stoppages he’s produced since the Cormier bout, none have really provided a reason to think his next try for the title will be any different.

Cormier took his best shots and kept coming. That’s something no one’s done in the 205-pound career Johnson has built in the UFC. Every time a new foe crumbles, it just reinforces something we already know: Most guys cannot take those punches.

Cormier can, though. He’s proven it.

It may be why he was so excited to inform the world he’d fight Johnson again at the earliest mutual convenience; everyone else thinks he’s crazy to want it, but he thinks everyone else is crazy for forgetting how he handled Johnson the first time.

What would have been useful was some new wrinkle in Johnson’s game to have come out, either against Teixeira or against the others who have been obliterated by the savage power striking that’s become his signature. Without such a wrinkle—evidence of improved cardio, better tactics or more refinement in the things he’s already expert at—there’s no reason to think he’ll take the title on his second try.

Follow me on Twitter @matthewjryder

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