– The stars of UFC 211 have earned some of their biggest wins with impressive finishes, and here is the video to back it up. Check out the Top-8 finishes from fighters set for action this Saturday night in Dallas including highlights of victories by Demian Maia, Frankie Edgar, UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and […]
– The stars of UFC 211 have earned some of their biggest wins with impressive finishes, and here is the video to back it up. Check out the Top-8 finishes from fighters set for action this Saturday night in Dallas including highlights of victories by Demian Maia, Frankie Edgar, UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and […]
Daniel Cormier feels that mixed martial arts (MMA) fans’ hate for him is a lot similar the heat some of the disliked baby faces (good guys) in professional wrestling take. Cormier is a huge pro wrestling fan and got the opportunity to speak to one of the greatest tag teams of all time, Edge and Christian,
Daniel Cormier feels that mixed martial arts (MMA) fans’ hate for him is a lot similar the heat some of the disliked baby faces (good guys) in professional wrestling take.
Cormier is a huge pro wrestling fan and got the opportunity to speak to one of the greatest tag teams of all time, Edge and Christian, on their new podcast, Edge and Christian’ Podcast of Awesomeness.
During the appearance Cormier compared his position with the MMA fanbase to that of John Cena and Roman Reigns in the WWE (quotes via MMA Fighting):
“Lately I’ve been having to do a little more talking because the fans have, they’ve kind of turned on me – which is okay. I get it. It’s okay. But I kind of relate myself to Roman Reigns, John Cena, those types of guys. Guys that are supposed to be good guys but the fans just have something that they don’t like, something that doesn’t resonate with them. So I’ve kind of been having to talk a little bit more and it’s refreshing.”
Cormier comes off of a second round submission victory over Anthony Johnson at UFC 210 live on pay-per-view (PPV). It marked the former Olympian’s second consecutive light heavyweight title defense.
Now ‘DC’ is expected to defend his title against former 205-pound kingpin, and longtime hated rival, Jon Jones upon his return from suspension. The pair were initially set to rematch at UFC 200 back in July, a rematch from their original meeting at UFC 182 which Jones won via unanimous decision, but ‘Bones’ was removed after being flagged for a United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) violation.
Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Jones has been involved in a bit of not-so-favorable activities outside the Octagon, including cocaine use, a hit-and-run in which he injured a pregnant woman, and the USADA violation that cost UFC 200 its main event. Despite all this, fans continue to cheer Jones and boo Cormier, and the American Kickboxing Academy product thinks it’s because they can relate to Jones more:
“People don’t want to be told, ‘I’m good so you should cheer for me.’ Jon Jones is a guy that has made a lot of mistakes, so maybe people relate to him more. They go, ‘Forget this Daniel Cormier goody two-shoes, him and his kids and his family. I want the guy that does coke and parties and crashes cars. That’s the guy I want.’
“Maybe I’m not cool enough because I go to work, I fight, when I’m not fighting I go back and I go to my kids’ soccer and baseball games. That’s what I do. I go to wrestling. I’m not out partying. I’m not out doing all kinds of crazy stuff. Maybe I’m just too boring but I’m fine with it. I like my life.”
With rumors circulating that the pair could possibly rematch at UFC 214 on PPV this July in Anaheim, California, Cormier is just hoping the fight actually happens this time:
“It sounds good. Jon and I have been scheduled to fight five times and we’ve fought once. I hope that everything gets done and we get to fight in Anaheim because he’s my white whale. He’s that guy I have to go chase down, I have to get it done. So me and my legacy, for my sanity, for me as a competitor, I have to stand across the octagon from Jon Jones again and win this time.”
Daniel Cormier is happy with live crowds booing him and cheering Jon Jones. Cormier, who is the reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight title holder, is used to playing the villain while Jones is viewed as a hero. This is despite the fact that “Bones” has had a few run-ins with the law. During […]
Daniel Cormier is happy with live crowds booing him and cheering Jon Jones. Cormier, who is the reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight title holder, is used to playing the villain while Jones is viewed as a hero. This is despite the fact that “Bones” has had a few run-ins with the law. During […]
With the boxing superfight between UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. possibly being on the horizon, many mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters are finding themselves curious as to how they’d fare in boxing. Fighters such as Nate Diaz and UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo have followed suit and applied for their boxing
With the boxing superfight between UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. possibly being on the horizon, many mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters are finding themselves curious as to how they’d fare in boxing.
Fighters such as Nate Diaz and UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo have followed suit and applied for their boxing licenses as well.
A fight between McGregor and Mayweather will be a fight between a man who has never competed in a professional boxing fight in his life (McGregor), and possibly the greatest to ever lace up a pair of gloves (Mayweather). While some combat sports fans are expecting a complete wipeout of McGregor, some are actually giving him a puncher’s chance.
UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier was recently asked by a fan how he believes he’d do in a boxing match against the likes of Anthony Joshua. Cormier responded by saying that in a boxing match he would be knocked out ‘so fast’ by Joshua:
I would get knocked out so fast!!! All of us would in a BOXING match. We CANT outbox these dudes in straight boxing matches man. https://t.co/Zk8aJx0aPx
Cormier doesn’t have to worry about stepping into a boxing ring anytime soon, as the 205-pound champ most likely will defend his title against longtime rival Jon Jones next. Jones’ United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspension is nearly up, and a bout between the two could be on the horizon.
How do you think Cormier would fare in the boxing ring against the elite such as Anthony Joshua?
UFC Light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier is hoping to face former champion and former pound-for-pound king Jon Jones at UFC 214 this summer. “Bones” is currently serving out a USADA suspension that will end in July. The two first met at UFC 182 in Jan. 2015 where Jones took home a unanimous decision victory. He
UFC Light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier is hoping to face former champion and former pound-for-pound king Jon Jones at UFC 214 this summer. “Bones” is currently serving out a USADA suspension that will end in July.
The two first met at UFC 182 in Jan. 2015 where Jones took home a unanimous decision victory. He then, however, tested positive for cocaine metabolites in the aftermath of the bout. They were then set to rematch at UFC 200 last July, but Jones was forced to withdraw just days prior after being flagged by USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) for an anti-doping violation.
Cormier recently blasted the ex-champions for his issues with USADA:
“Last time — I’m a truth teller — the first fight when me and Jon fought there were stories about him hiding from USADA or some [expletive] like that. Then when he finally did get his test, he tested positive for cocaine and his body levels were all just completely out of whack as if he had just finished doing some illegal stuff,” Cormier explained when speaking to FOX Sports.
“Then after he got himself into that trouble, he came back and he fought Ovince Saint-Preux. He was big and he was strong and he looked fantastic and it was his first fight under USADA and he fought like [expletive]. So then at UFC 200, he probably said ‘I can’t really do this the way I want to do it without my help.’ So he said ‘I’m just going to try it again’ and he tested positive again.”
In fact, Cormier even went as far to imply that Jones has been using steroids:
“He may want to try to learn how to do this the correct way before he fights me. I hate saying a guy used steroids, but all signs point to him doing something wrong,” Cormier said. “Let’s be honest. From the test levels from before the first time we fought and then his test results didn’t become available until after the fight. So there’s smoke there obviously.”
Imagine being great.
Imagine being a conqueror, one who has stood atop every mountain he ever tried to scale. One people respect and fear in equal, healthy measures.
Imagine being showered in attention, praise and riches for it, and lapping those thing…
Imagine being great.
Imagine being a conqueror, one who has stood atop every mountain he ever tried to scale. One people respect and fear in equal, healthy measures.
Imagine being showered in attention, praise and riches for it, and lapping those things up to the tune of money and championship belts.
Imagine how it would feel to be genuinely, undeniably great like that.
Now imagine that it was all contingent on one thing: Daddy ain’t home.
If you’ve got all the imagination required to walk yourself through the steps above, you’ve got the imagination required to relate to UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier.
Cormier is the sitting titleholder of what was once the promotion’s marquee division, a former heavyweight who has defended his belt twice, beaten all-time great Anderson Silva during his reign and left little doubt that he’s the best active 205-pounder around at the moment.
Key word being “active.”
Jon Jones, Cormier‘s chief nemesis, sits inactive, the subject of one of the most incredible self-sabotages in the history of sports, much less MMA. Before that sabotage, Jones was on an upward trajectory unlike any ever seen in the business.
He debuted in the UFC at age 20 and was the youngest champion in history by his sixth fight in the promotion.
He defended that title eight times in four years, closing in on Silva’s record for title defenses before his 28th birthday—a remarkable accomplishment considering the hoopla surrounding Demetrious Johnson matching Silva last weekend, given how far Jones got in fewer fights and at a younger age.
He also convincingly beat Cormier—both in the cage and the alley—as his final defense before his career was derailed, handing the former Olympian a demoralizing drubbing that was never particularly in doubt.
But due to his demons, Jones was sidelined and Cormier took his spot only a few months after that loss. It didn’t come easy for him, as he had to defuse the bomb of Anthony Johnson on short notice (which he had to do once again for his second title defense), but he has remained something of a placeholder without Jones in fold.
People know he’s the second-best guy, and they know he needs to prove otherwise to be fully accepted as champion. In that regard his reckoning is very much on the way as the UFC is targeting Jones-Cormier II for UFC 214, according to Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting.
Win and his reign will be legitimized, his own demons related to his feud with Jones and lone career loss exorcized. He’ll also score the inevitable payday of a trilogy fight, probably immediately.
Lose and the doubters and naysayers will be louder than ever, criticizing him as a paper champion who was simply keeping Jones’ seat warm atop the division he cleaned out from 2011 onwards.
There’ll likely be shots fired about Cormier enjoying that paper championship a little more than he should have as well, which has been a big part of his being booed while Jones has worked out his issues.
The facts are what they are: Jones is a longstanding champion who has rarely been tested, including by Cormier. Cormier won his title only insomuch as Jones lost it to himself. Cormier earned his title without beating Jones, but he has defended that title admirably. Jones is coming back for it, and there’s not much reason to think he can’t get it.
Of course, Cormier can add to that story by beating Jones and showing the world he’s the one true king to emerge from the past two years of divisional flux.
It’s the greatest reckoning of his, and perhaps anyone’s, career to this point, and it will define his legacy forever.
Imagine being great.