Tag: daniel cormier

UFC 182: Did Jones vs. Cormier Live Up to Hype?

The monumentally hyped light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier was every bit as gritty and exciting as advertised.
Thousands of fans piled into the sold-out MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Saturday night for UFC 182, whic…

The monumentally hyped light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier was every bit as gritty and exciting as advertised.

Thousands of fans piled into the sold-out MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Saturday night for UFC 182, which featured arguably the biggest grudge match in UFC history. Months of excessive trash talk and an unexpected media brawl cemented the light heavyweight tilt’s blockbuster status.

History has shown that bouts enveloped in grandiose pre-fight drama typically end up being pay-per-view duds. There was some concern that Jones and Cormier could turn into a snoozer.

Even UFC President Dana White expected more of a feeling-out process early in the fight.

“Well, they talked all this trash and everything that led up to it,” White told journalist Ariel Helwani in an interview on Fox. “I thought there was going to be a big feeling-out process in the first round. It’s a five-round title fight, it means everything. They went at it from the first bell to the fourth bell.”

Jones came out early in the fight and set the tone with a takedown on Cormier, a former Olympic wrestler. Cormier responded in the next couple of rounds by closing the distance and roughing Jones up in the clinch with short hooks and uppercuts.

The tide began to turn in the fourth round as Cormier slowly began to fade from a tireless work rate along with multiple kicks and knees to the body. Both men were on autopilot by the time the fifth round started, but Jones was clearly the fresher fighter. He flipped the script on Cormier by closing the distance and busting the much shorter contender up with knees to the body and dirty boxing.

Twitter lit up with excitement from other UFC fighters as the back-and-forth battle played out.

In the end, it was Jones once again getting the job done in a unanimous decision.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway is the lingering resentment Jones has for Cormier. When appearing on Fox Sports, Jones said that he hoped Cormier was “somewhere crying” after the loss. The ongoing bad blood between the two light heavyweights leaves the door open for a possible rematch somewhere down the line.

A second fight probably won’t catch magic in a bottle like the first one, which White says dwarfed his initial pay-per-view projection of 750,000 buys at the post-fight press conference.

However, it would give fans another blockbuster title fight worth the $60 price tag.

 

Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Fanrag Sports.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 182 Salaries: Jon Jones Earns Waaaaaay More Than Everyone Else


(Yep, that’s gonna suck. Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)

The UFC paid out $1.5 million in disclosed salaries and bonuses to the 22 fighters who competed at UFC 182: Jones vs. Cormier, with light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones taking home over a third of the pie. Of course, these numbers never really tell the full story, as they don’t include pay-per-view incentives and undisclosed “locker room bonuses” that can make UFC fights much more lucrative for the headliners. Anyway, the official payout list is below via MMAJunkie. Let us know if you have any questions.

Jon Jones: $550,000 (no win bonus; includes $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
def. Daniel Cormier: $140,000 (includes $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus)

Donald Cerrone: $140,000 (includes $70,000 win bonus)
def. Myles Jury: $16,000

Brad Tavares: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus)
def. Nate Marquardt: $49,000

Kyoji Horiguchi: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
def. Louis Gaudinot: $10,000


(Yep, that’s gonna suck. Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)

The UFC paid out $1.5 million in disclosed salaries and bonuses to the 22 fighters who competed at UFC 182: Jones vs. Cormier, with light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones taking home over a third of the pie. Of course, these numbers never really tell the full story, as they don’t include pay-per-view incentives and undisclosed “locker room bonuses” that can make UFC fights much more lucrative for the headliners. Anyway, the official payout list is below via MMAJunkie. Let us know if you have any questions.

Jon Jones: $550,000 (no win bonus; includes $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
def. Daniel Cormier: $140,000 (includes $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus)

Donald Cerrone: $140,000 (includes $70,000 win bonus)
def. Myles Jury: $16,000

Brad Tavares: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus)
def. Nate Marquardt: $49,000

Kyoji Horiguchi: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
def. Louis Gaudinot: $10,000

Hector Lombard: $106,000 (includes $53,000 win bonus)
def. Josh Burkman: $45,000

Paul Felder: $70,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus, $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus)
def. Danny Castillo: $36,000

Cody Garbrandt: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Marcus Brimage: $12,000

Shawn Jordan: $94,000 (includes $22,000 win bonus, $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus)
def. Jared Cannonier: $8,000

Evan Dunham: $54,000 (includes $27,000 win bonus)
def. Rodrigo Damm: $12,000

Omari Akhmedov: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Mats Nilsson: $8,000

Marion Reneau: $17,600 (includes $8,000 win bonus, and $1,600 from Dufresne’s purse)
def. Alexis Dufresne: $6,400 (Dufresne was penalized 20% of her purse for missing weight)

UFC 182: Cain Velasquez Consoles Emotional Cormier Backstage After Loss

UFC 182 was an emotional night for Daniel Cormier, who came up short in his quest for the light heavyweight title against nemesis Jon Jones.
As he exited an arena filled with thousands Saturday night, Cormier crossed back over the broken threshold of r…

UFC 182 was an emotional night for Daniel Cormier, who came up short in his quest for the light heavyweight title against nemesis Jon Jones.

As he exited an arena filled with thousands Saturday night, Cormier crossed back over the broken threshold of reality into the waiting arms of longtime friend and training partner Cain Velasquez. UFC Espanol posted a Vine of the emotional embrace Sunday:

In an interview with Submission Radio, retired UFC middleweight Chris Leben explained that the life of a fighter is only warranted with 15 or 25 minutes of glory—maximum. The rest is all “blood, sweat, tears and sacrifice.”

It’s hard to fathom all of the hours wasted away in a training room only to come up short for a world title on the biggest stage. The enormity of the disappointment felt by Cormier after dropping a unanimous decision to Jones cannot be quelled by rudimentary phrases like, “it’ll be OK” or “you did your best.”

Sure, both of those phrases are absolutely true. Cormier fought like a warrior against arguably the greatest fighter in MMA history, and odds are, he’ll work his way back to a rematch one day.

Moments of disappointment are remedied over time by understanding. Velasquez didn’t have to say anything to Cormier. As a fighter and someone who has lost in a title fight, he understood every emotion running through Cormier’s veins without uttering a single word.

For years, fans have often criticized both Velasquez and Cormier for refusing to fight one another at heavyweight, but moments like this prove the very essence of a deep relationship that has developed between these two warriors.

They aren’t just training partners. They are brothers.

 

Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Fanrag Sports.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Jon Jones’ Daughter: ‘Well, Daniel, I Tried to Warn You’

A little salt in the wound never hurt anybody—unless you’re a world-class MMA fighter getting teased by an adorable six-year-old.
Several months ago, UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones’ daughter went viral after guaranteeing her da…

A little salt in the wound never hurt anybody—unless you’re a world-class MMA fighter getting teased by an adorable six-year-old.

Several months ago, UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones’ daughter went viral after guaranteeing her daddy would “beat up” undefeated contender Daniel Cormier. The video was released as a harmless jab at Cormier before the infamous media brawl, where the feud reached its boiling point.

The young Nostradamus made good on her guarantee Saturday night when Jones defeated the former Olympian at UFC 182 to retain his light heavyweight title. After accurately predicting one of the biggest grudge matches in UFC history, Jones’ daughter had some parting words for Cormier on Instagram.

“Well, Daniel, I tried to warn you,” she said.

Losses are never easy in any sport, but there tends to be a deeper vulnerability or feeling of helplessness when an athlete incurs defeat in combat sports, especially in the presence of great personal animosity.

Two men go to battle, and only one leaves as the victor. The mantra has remained the same throughout human evolution, even before the gladiator time period.

After months of trash talk, both Jones and Cormier were very much aware that the loser would have to eat an exceptional portion of crow. Unfortunately for Cormier, he was the one who came out with the short end of the stick.

Perhaps the biggest question is whether Jones is going too far for his continued post-fight jabs at Cormier. He already won the fight and solidified himself as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Is it right to continue to kick a man when he’s down?

Maybe that’s not even the correct way of looking at it. Perhaps Jones’ coldness and continued disdain for Cormier proved that what we witnessed at UFC 182 wasn’t fake or manufactured conflict to capitalize on pay-per-view buys.

It was all real.

 

Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Fanrag Sports.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 182 Photo: Jon Jones Reminds Daniel Cormier of His Place in Life


(Click for larger version.)

2015’s first “Photo of the Year” nomination goes to MMAFighting‘s Esther Lin, who captured the demoralizing moment at UFC 182 when Jon Jones palmed Daniel Cormier‘s head at the end of round 4, after taking the former Olympic wrestler down repeatedly. Cormier can barely summon the will to get angry; his spirit had already been broken.

In terms of Jones trolling his opponents following dominant rounds, this ranks right up there with the time that Jones went through Rampage’s legs just to be a jackass. Classic heel stuff. You can see the rest of Esther Lin’s UFC 182 photos right here.


(Click for larger version.)

2015′s first “Photo of the Year” nomination goes to MMAFighting‘s Esther Lin, who captured the demoralizing moment at UFC 182 when Jon Jones palmed Daniel Cormier‘s head at the end of round 4, after taking the former Olympic wrestler down repeatedly. Cormier can barely summon the will to get angry; his spirit had already been broken.

In terms of Jones trolling his opponents following dominant rounds, this ranks right up there with the time that Jones went through Rampage’s legs just to be a jackass. Classic heel stuff. You can see the rest of Esther Lin’s UFC 182 photos right here.

Daniel Cormier Opens Up on What Makes Jon Jones So Good

An emotional Daniel Cormier didn’t conjure up any excuses or assume the role of a sore loser following his devastating, unanimous-decision loss to Jon Jones in their light heavyweight title fight at UFC 182 on Saturday.
Instead, Cormier swallowed his p…

An emotional Daniel Cormier didn’t conjure up any excuses or assume the role of a sore loser following his devastating, unanimous-decision loss to Jon Jones in their light heavyweight title fight at UFC 182 on Saturday.

Instead, Cormier swallowed his pride and proved that he’s a genuine sportsman by paying Jones respect for his extraordinary abilities during the UFC 182 post-fight press conference.

“I can’t say enough about his mentality inside of that Octagon,” said Cormier. “I’ve shared that cage with some very, very strong men and some very big men, heroes (and) superheroes, and I can’t say enough about his grit and his determination, because I pushed him and I went after him and I fought him but he did a good job.”

Jones and Cormier had engaged in a typical alpha-male war of words, one that began four years ago with a backhanded comment from Jones regarding Cormier‘s wrestling.

The feud reached a breaking point in August when Jones and Cormier brawled seconds into a staredown/photo opportunity at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.

The 27-year-old Jones and the 35-year-old Cormier then showed the world just how authentic their rivalry was by putting on a tantalizing, Fight of the Night-worthy performance in the main event of UFC 182.

Each man got down to business early in Round 1 and didn’t let up until they were both seemingly running on fumes in the fifth round. Jones made adjustments after a tumultuous second round and rebounded to control the third, fourth and fifth rounds, while Cormier, who certainly never gave up, slowly faded.

Jones not only denied seven of the former Division I All-American wrestler’s shots, he also amassed three takedowns and became the first man to ground Cormier. In the stand-up department, Jones outstruck Cormier 126-78, including 92-58 in the significant strikes category.

Cormier spoke about Jones’ effectiveness in this regard:

He got me with a good shot in the body in the first round that made it difficult. You know, Jon and his coaches did a great job of coming up with a game plan. Early in the fight he was hitting me left and right hooks to the body, and as the fight progressed he started throwing them a little straighter and that knee actually took a lot out of me early.

Earlier in the press conference, Cormier pointed out what caught him off guard most about Jones, who essentially took a page out of Cormier‘s book and bullied the challenger up against the fence.

“If anything surprised me, it was that he felt a little bigger in the cage than he looks normally. He’s a big guy (and) he’s strong. He hangs on you and when he starts to hang on you, it can zap you a little bit later in the fight.”

Cormier also said Jones surprised him by countering while moving backward, something the previously unbeaten former Olympic freestyle wrestler didn’t see on tape in Jones’ previous fights.

One thing Cormier didn’t attribute his performance to was the 12-inch reach disadvantage he had to deal with. In fact, Cormier said Jones’ length had little to do with the fight’s outcome:

That was my intent was to be close. We talk a lot about reach, (but) even on the outside we were kind of trading jabs and stuff, so it wasn’t as big of a deal. I think it’s more his tactics than anything. He has a way of making himself feel actually bigger inside of the cage. It’s not his height or anything. It’s abilities that make him hard to deal with.

Still, despite all the respect and camaraderie Cormier showed in the post-fight presser, Jones admitted that his feelings for the American Kickboxing Academy stalwart haven’t changed.

“I don’t like Daniel Cormier,” Jones told Fox Sports (h/t MMA Fighting). “I don’t respect Daniel Cormier. I hope he’s somewhere crying right now. I’m sure he is. I can’t wait until he earns his way back, so I can whoop him again.”

And like he’d done in each of his nine UFC title fights, Jones said he attained his goal of beating his opponent in his respective areas of expertise.

“I outgrinded him. I held him against the cage. He could not get off the cage. He could have got off the cage, but I wanted to prove he’s not the king of the grind. It wasn’t a pretty fight. It wasn’t a technically sexy fight. But I proved that he wasn’t the king of the grind tonight, I was the king of the grind.”

 

All stats gathered via Fightmetric.com.

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