The focus of the MMA world is on the Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony “Rumble” Johnson rematch in the main event of Saturday night’s (April 8, 2017) UFC 210 from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York, but apparently some UFC promotional employees may not have been quite as focused as the rest of the fight community.
The focus of the MMA world is on the Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony “Rumble” Johnson rematch in the main event of Saturday night’s (April 8, 2017) UFC 210 from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York, but apparently some UFC promotional employees may not have been quite as focused as the rest of the fight community.
A rather sizable mistake showed up in the promotional materials at today’s UFC 210 Media Day staredowns between Cormier and “Rumble.” Watch the video via MMA Fighting and see if you can spot the mistake (if you can’t, scroll past the video for the answer).
Needless, to say, it was a mistake that could have – and should have – been fixed:
The UFC wrote ‘World Heavyweight Championship’ instead of ‘World Light Heavyweight Championship’ on the wall banner behind the fighters. Oops.
UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier is set to defend his title for the second time in a rematch against No. 1-contender Anthony “Rumble” Johnson in the main event of this weekend’s (April 8, 2017) UFC 210 from Buffalo, New York. The winner will likely meet former champion and former pound-for-pound king Jon Jones this
UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier is set to defend his title for the second time in a rematch against No. 1-contender Anthony “Rumble” Johnson in the main event of this weekend’s (April 8, 2017) UFC 210 from Buffalo, New York.
The winner will likely meet former champion and former pound-for-pound king Jon Jones this summer when “Bones” returns from suspension.
Cormier and Jones have a rivalry dating back a few years now and they actually clashed at Jan. 2015’s UFC 182 where Jones beat “DC” by unanimous decision. They were supposed to rematch last summer at UFC 200, but “Bones” was forced to withdraw after he failed a drug test.
Cormier is well aware that he has a tough test in front of him in “Rumble”, but he also recently said that his legacy will depend on his rivalry with Jones:
“I think beating ‘Rumble’ again, it’ll help [my legacy], but ultimately it will come down to my rivalry with Jones,” Cormier told FOX Sports. “Anthony has done a tremendous job as he’s come up the weight classes but, we’re talking about a rivalry with a guy that many consider the greatest fighter of all time. So wins over a guy like Jon Jones is what’s going to really, probably be the one thing that solidifies where I’m trying to sit whenever I retire from the sport.
“At the end of the day I do have a tough challenge on my hands next week. Beating Anthony again, it’ll just be closing the chapter. I mean people really do believe in him and they really do love the knockout, so he gets a reputation for being the scariest guy. So beating someone like that twice really should cement who I am and everything else I’ve done, but ultimately I think it will depend on the rivalry with Jones.”
After Jones’ failed drug test was brought to light, Cormier admitted that he longer had interest in being matched up with the former champion given Jones’ consistent issues outside of the cage. Now, however, “DC” is ready to address the situation and ready to seek revenge on his bitter rival:
“Yes, I will be ready to address the situation. For a while, I felt so burned that I was like I don’t want to fight him. Honestly, before I knew that his suspension was going to carry through [the] next year, I spoke to people about what should happen next before the ‘Rumble’ fight came about. It was [expletive] Jon Jones, I’m not dealing with him again,” Cormier explained.
“I’ve dealt with that. I’ve resolved those issues. I’ll give it another shot. I want to compete against that guy. I want to fight him. He beat me the first time and that means something to me. Yes, I will be ready to address that situation once again.”
Do you expect Cormier to get by Johnson and earn a rematch with Jones?
After racking up three straight knockout wins over Jimi Manuwa, Ryan Bader, and Glover Teixeira since losing a title bid versus current champion Daniel Cormier in May 2015, top-ranked UFC light heavyweight Anthony “Rumble” Johnson will finally get another shot at “DC” in the main event of this Saturday’s (April 8, 2017) UFC 210 from the KeyBank
After racking up three straight knockout wins over Jimi Manuwa, Ryan Bader, and Glover Teixeira since losing a title bid versus current champion Daniel Cormier in May 2015, top-ranked UFC light heavyweight Anthony “Rumble” Johnson will finally get another shot at “DC” in the main event of this Saturday’s (April 8, 2017) UFC 210 from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.
Arguably the most feared striker in all of mixed martial arts (MMA), the dominant “Rumble” has won 12 out of his last 13 bouts and boasts nine T/KO wins during the torrid stretch. However, he was thoroughly dominated by Cormier after the champion was able to survive an early punch to utilize his Olympic wrestling to smother Johnson and win the bout by submission in the third frame.
When Cormier locked in the fight-ending choke, Johnson’s famed striking coach Henri Hooft could be heard yelling, “Don’t give up” in the background, something Cormier said made him certain his biggest victory was almost at hand. But during a recent interview on ESPN’s “Five Rounds” Podcast with Brett Okamoto (via Bloody Elbow), the Dutch kickboxing specialist explained just what he meant when he repeated that phrase. Apparently, he meant it as more of a motivation to not give Cormier a position where he would be dominant:
“Some people say ‘you’re a great coach, but you cannot tell that to your students.’ That’s bulls—t!” Hooft explained. “Because every training, in a scramble when you give the back to somebody, we talk about this ‘don’t give up, scramble! scramble!’ Don’t give up position, and don’t just sit there and wait.’
“He’s going to be strong (in that position) and you’re going to be weaker, so that’s why we try to motivate them to don’t give up,” he said. “He got a little bit crazy in the first round, and he had to survive the second round just to get his second wind. Not ‘giving up’ was not saying he wants to quit in the fight, I don’t think AJ is like that. Otherwise he wouldn’t come up this far — but give up positions, where his opponent is getting stronger.”
Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale for USA TODAY Sports
Hooft refuted all who believe “Rumble” is a fighter who can be broken mentally, noting that Cormier, who only has a single loss to disgraced all-time great Jon Jones on his record, was the only fighter to beat him in his wildly successful UFC return:
“Probably people think they can break AJ, but it’s kinda funny. The only guy that beat AJ was DC, the rest, AJ knocked everybody out. They’re saying ‘he’s mentally weak, blah blah blah’ but you see what happens (to his opponents). A real fighter doesn’t quit in the fight in the sense of ‘I don’t want to do this anymore’, but they give up a position. That’s where it gets wrong, because you give the opponent confidence. That was more of the case of me trying to make him not give up position and to keep going.”
Finally, Hooft clarified his statement by pointing out that with all Johnson’s been through in his up-and-down MMA career, he simply wouldn’t be in the elite position he’s in right now if he was indeed a fighter who packed it in:
“It doesn’t mean quitting the fight. I don’t think a guy like AJ — what he went through with all these weight cuts, with all these problems and everything, he wouldn’t be fighting anymore if he quits.”
“Anthony is not somebody who quits. That’s not the case. Maybe it was just a little misunderstood. People get like crazy about it. C’mon man, be serious.”
Top-ranked UFC light heavyweight Anthony “Rumble” Johnson will finally have another chance to defeat current champion Daniel Cormier when the two stars meet for a second time in the main event of next Saturday’s (April 8, 2017) UFC 210 from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. On a torrid streak since May 2012 where he’s won 12
Top-ranked UFC light heavyweight Anthony “Rumble” Johnson will finally have another chance to defeat current champion Daniel Cormier when the two stars meet for a second time in the main event of next Saturday’s (April 8, 2017) UFC 210 from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.
On a torrid streak since May 2012 where he’s won 12 out of 13 bouts including nine by knockout, “Rumble” has quickly built a reputation as MMA’s most feared knockout hitter. But the only man who has been able to weather the storm since he stopped cutting down to absurd weight classes was Cormier, who utilized his world-class wrestling to wait out “Rumble’s” early power and submit the hulking behemoth in the third round of their first fight at 2015’s UFC 187.
Johnson has knocked out Jimi Manuwa, Ryan Bader, and Glover Teixeira since to earn his rematch with “DC,” and he recently said he’s a new kind of combatant during this week’s UFC 210 media call (via MMA Fighting):
“I’m definitely not the same fighter I was two years ago,” Johnson said. “Every day, every week, every month, every year I’m getting better and better, so you’ll see a different guy out there the next time you see me fight.
“[The loss] definitely lit a fire under my ass to train harder and know what I needed to do to beat this guy.”
Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale for USA TODAY Sports
Cormier recently insisted his opponent will only be dangerous in the “first seven minutes,” but “Rumble” nonchalantly refuted that notion, insisting Cormier and anyone can think that if they want to:
“The majority of the community believes I’m just a first-round fighter because most of my fights end in the first round,” Johnson said. “But they’re entitled to their own opinion, and that’s fine with me. I have nothing to prove to anybody but myself, so if [Cormier] wants to believe that and everybody else wants to believe that, that’s completely fine with me.”
Cormier then responded with some harsh yet clear words of his own, stating he doesn’t necessarily think Johnson will be anything different from the early-round knockout striker we’ve seen in the past:
“If it makes me a bad guy because I tell the truth, or the truth as I believe it, then I guess that’s what I am,” Cormier said. “I believe everything (I say). I’m not lying. I don’t lie about anything. All I do is state the truth. If people don’t like the truth, then that’s on them. I’m not sitting here making stuff up. I’m not over here pretending. I’m over here stating facts. And if me telling the facts makes me the bad guy, then okay.
“[But] when we talk about him being a completely different fighter, I don’t necessarily know what you guys are basing this on,” Cormier continued. “He beat Jimi Manuwa and he took him down, but of course he’s going to take Jimi Manuwa down. He’s a wrestler. Jimi Manuwa can’t wrestle. Then you’re talking about him and Ryan Bader. If I would’ve shot on Anthony from across the Octagon, he would’ve done the same thing to me. He fought for a total of seven minutes since him and I fought, but he’s this completely different fighter? I have no idea where you guys are getting this from.”
Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale for USA TODAY Sports
Johnson remained steadfast in his quest, however, describing his ultimate goal of being champion “an obsession”:
“Getting the belt would definitely put everything in place for me,” Johnson said. “And mentally, it’s like an obsession.”
As the only two clear top light heavyweights in the UFC outside of dominant but troubled former champion Jon Jones, Cormier and Johnson know each others’ games, and they probably also know what the other one is going to say by now.
The talk will be over soon, and Cormier will look to make his first title defense since 2015 against the man he initially won the belt against. The 38-year-old AKA superstar believes “Rumble” will be dangerous early, and indeed he’s felt that storied power before early in the first fight.
But it’s “Rumble” who’s been active in knocking out three Top 5-ranked contenders without breaking a sweat while “DC” was on the sidelines with multiple ailments. Will it be “Rumble” who’s the different fighter in the rematch, or has Cormier lost a step himself?
Daniel Cormier will put his light heavyweight title on the line for the first time since Oct. 2015 when he meets No. 1 contender Anthony Johnson in the main event of April 8’s UFC 210 from Buffalo, New York. At 38 years of age, Cormier has dealt with his fair share of injuries over the
Daniel Cormier will put his light heavyweight title on the line for the first time since Oct. 2015 when he meets No. 1 contender Anthony Johnson in the main event of April 8’s UFC 210 from Buffalo, New York. At 38 years of age, Cormier has dealt with his fair share of injuries over the last few years, which has led some to wonder if he’s slowing down.
“DC” did compete last July at UFC 200, however, scoring a dominant decision victory over former longtime middleweight king Anderson Silva in a fight that he said was the ‘easiest’ of his career:
“I have no idea what people are talking about,” Cormier said Thursday on UFC 210’s media conference call when asked if he may have lost a step. “I fought Anderson Silva on two days’ notice and I beat a guy who people consider the greatest fighter of all-time, 30-26 across the board. There was no danger in that fight. That was the easiest fight of my entire career. I don’t know how I lost a step. If anything, I feel like I’m still able to get these takedowns whenever I choose to.”
Cormier’s wrestling will likely be a focus point for him in his rematch with Johnson, who happens to be one of the most prolific knockout artists in the sport. “DC”, who scored a submission victory over “Rumble” in the first meeting, also said that this fight will be ‘worse’ for Johnson:
“I feel like I’m a better fighter today than I was the first time,” Cormier said. “You know the first time we fought, I fought him on three-and-a-half weeks’ notice. I had a three-week training camp. I had a three-week training camp and still outworked him. I know I was a different opponent than his previous guy, but he still had a full training camp. I had three-and-a-half weeks to get prepared for a championship fight and still found a way to outwork him. What’s going to happen now that I’ve been training for him for 12 weeks? It’s going to be worse than the first one.”
Who do you expect to walk away with 205-pound gold on April 8?
Well, that seems like it went by fast. One day before the one-year anniversary of him being jailed for violating his probation, troubled former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones is now off probation and a free man. A Bernalillo County Dustrict Attorney’s Office in New Mexico told TMZ Sports that Jones has successfully
One day before the one-year anniversary of him being jailed for violating his probation, troubled former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones is now off probation and a free man.
A Bernalillo County Dustrict Attorney’s Office in New Mexico told TMZ Sports that Jones has successfully completed the sentence and is 100 percent “free and clear” as of today.
The MMA legend was sentenced to 18 months supervised probation after a bizarre hit-and-run accident that left a 25-year-old pregnant Albuquerque woman with a broken arm, after which Jones fled the scene of the crime only to return to grab drugs, paraphernalia, and a large handful of cash before fleeing once again.
Jones was then a wanted man for the next couple days before turning himself in, but his troubles unfortunately didn’t stop there. He was jailed for the aforementioned probation violation after he was ticketed for drag racing and other traffic violations in a controversial traffic stop with a police officer whom many declared was profiling Jones. However, he’s been cleared of the transgression and has apparently completed the terms of his probation that included 72 appearances to help children make good decisions.
“Bones’” awaited return to MMA came against Ovince St. Preux at last April’s UFC 197 after rival and current champion Daniel Cormier pulled out with an injury, but Jones was then forced from their rescheduled rematch at last July’s UFC 200 after failing an out-of-competition USADA drug test, and has been suspended ever since. Added to the hit-and-run and his failed pre-fight drug test for cocaine before his original bout versus Cormier at 2015’s UFC 182, and it’s been more than a rough few years for one of the UFC’s best competitors of all-time.
Today, the formerly dominant pound-for-pound king has cleared another hurdle towards returning to the UFC, but as we’ve seen in recent years, we can only believe that when the cage door closes.
