Tag: Daniel Cormier injured

Daniel Cormier: I Don’t Know How To Beat Jon Jones

Reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel “DC” Cormier and former divisional kingpin Jon “Bones” Jones possess one of the deepest rivalries the sport has ever seen, and they’ve never been afraid to show it. Having already faced off once at January 2015’s UFC 182 where Jones successfully defended his then held title, the two were

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Reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel “DC” Cormier and former divisional kingpin Jon “Bones” Jones possess one of the deepest rivalries the sport has ever seen, and they’ve never been afraid to show it.

Having already faced off once at January 2015’s UFC 182 where Jones successfully defended his then held title, the two were scheduled to rematch at the upcoming UFC 197 on April 23, 2016.

Cormier, however, unfortunately suffered an injury and was forced off of the card, leading the UFC to call on No. 6-ranked Ovince St. Preux to face Jones on short notice for the interim 205 pound strap.

Speaking on the replacement bout, “DC” feels as if St. Preux could be in for a tough test.

Despite their obvious bad blood, Cormier did admit that, in his opinion, Jones is the greatest fighter of all-time:

“I never downplay what Jones is to this sport and what he’s been to this sport,” Cormier told Damon Martin of FOX Sports. “As a competitor I have to be honest with myself, this is a tough one for Ovince. He’s obviously a big, long guy that could cause some issues for most people, but Jon is who he is for a reason.

“He’s the greatest fighter to ever put on a pair of gloves.”

In the wake of his withdrawal from UFC 197, Cormier even was far as to offer his training camp to OSP, or in other words, he offered St. Preux a free trip to San Jose to train at the American Kickboxing Academy.

St. Preux would ultimately decline, but “DC” also admitted that he ‘doesn’t know how’ to beat Jones, given the fact that he lost the first bout, although he obviously would’ve helped OSP in any way he could’ve:

“Even if I don’t help Ovince Saint Preux and I can’t help him beat Jon because I don’t know how to beat Jon Jones, I didn’t do it,” Cormier said. “I don’t have some secret serum to give Ovince, but I would try to help him because even by me being there, it bugs him.”

Will “DC” find a way to beat Jones, or will the outcome of the inevitable rematch not differ from the first showdown?

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Dana White Reacts To UFC 197 Interim Belt: Jones Never Lost His Title

The MMA world is still collectively digesting the news that light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier was forced out of his long-awaited rematch with Jon Jones at UFC 197 and replaced by Ovince St. Preux, who will now meet ‘Bones’ for the interim title in the main event of the April 23 card from Las Vegas.

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The MMA world is still collectively digesting the news that light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier was forced out of his long-awaited rematch with Jon Jones at UFC 197 and replaced by Ovince St. Preux, who will now meet ‘Bones’ for the interim title in the main event of the April 23 card from Las Vegas.

News came soon after that Cormier would have a recovery time of roughly 4-8 weeks and would be able to return in roughly August or September, putting a possible rescheduling of their drawn-out rivalry at July’s UFC 200 on the shelf.

But Cormier won’t necessarily be out for that long, and we’ve obviously seen other champions — such as his AKA teammate and former heavyweight kingpin Cain Velasquez — hold up their respective divisions for far longer without an interim belt being created. That made the call to create one here a bit of a puzzling decision, but UFC President Dana White clarified it on ESPN’s SportsCenter by focusing on the fact that Jones never lost his belt in the cage:

“It will [be for the interim title]. It will still be the main event. It will be five rounds for the light heavyweight interim title. Jon has never lost his title in the Octagon. He was stripped of his title because of problems outside. We think it’s the right thing to do. It’s not [Jones’] fault Cormier is injured. He will fight for the interim light heavyweight title and then when Cormier comes back, they’ll decide who the real champ is.”

White is of course referring to the tenuous situation when Jones was unceremoniously stripped of his title and suspended for his arrest on felony hit-and-run charges in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that left a 25-year-old pregnant woman injured and Jones out of his anticipated UFC 187 match-up with Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson.

Jones also had quite the lengthy legal issue this week when a traffic stop resulted in him being jailed for a probation violation of the terms he was sentenced to for the hit-and-run charges, but all of that seems like sort of an afterthought now that Cormier is out of UFC 197.

Cormier has never pulled out of a fight in the UFC or any promotion before now, so the creation of an interim title does seem a bit arbitrary and unnecessary given that it’s little more than a symbolic gestured created to assign importance to the short-notice main event.

With Cormier poised to return sometime later this summer or early fall, it should be expected that his bout with Jones will be re-booked for the UFC’s anticipated Madison Square Garden debut late this year. That is, unless ‘OSP’ somehow shocks the world at UFC 197.

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Daniel Cormier Profusely Apologizes To Fans For Pulling Out Of UFC 197

In the disappointing and odd aftermath of UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier’s unfortunate withdrawal from his long-awaited UFC 197 rematch with bitter rival Jon Jones, ‘DC’ wants his fans and employers to know he’s truly and sincerely sorry. News broke that Cormier was forced out of the anticipated and monumental bout last night, and earlier

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In the disappointing and odd aftermath of UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier’s unfortunate withdrawal from his long-awaited UFC 197 rematch with bitter rival Jon Jones, ‘DC’ wants his fans and employers to know he’s truly and sincerely sorry.

News broke that Cormier was forced out of the anticipated and monumental bout last night, and earlier today (Sat., April 2, 2016), word came that Jones will face top contender Ovince St. Preux for the interim title at the April 23 event from Las Vegas after he said he was willing to “fight anyone.”

The booking is a bit strange to say the least considering that Cormier will likely be healed from the broken foot that forced him out of the fight in four to six weeks, creating a potential avenue for him to fight Jones at July’s suddenly bordering-on-historic UFC 200 card. His injury was also obviously unfortunate given the absolute whirlwind of legal trouble Jones went through last year and this week to actually be able to fight at UFC 197.

While the future of light heavyweight is uncertain to say the least, Cormier took to Instagram this evening to express his true heartfelt feelings to his fans and employers. See what he had to say right here:

So ‘DC’ is incredibly apologetic for the single withdrawal of his 18-fight MMA career, and even though many fans still don’t consider him the true champion because he never won the belt from Jones and actually lost to him, it’s clear that Cormier is exhibiting the class of a true champion in quickly addressing the issue to his real fans.

And after taking on Jones — even in defeat — before defeating Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Alexander Gustafsson in one year, he also has the world-class resume of a champion as well. But the proverbial monkey will always be on his back until he returns to fight Jones to settle their score once and for all, so here’s hoping that “DC” is healthy and back to training soon.

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