Tag: daniel cormier

It’s no secret to anybody that Jon Jones is pretty good at this whole mixed martial arts thing. He’ll roll into UFC 182 on Saturday as an essentially unbeaten champion who has almost never been seriously tested in his career.

He’s been so far ahead of the curve in his more recent title defenses that he’s begun toying with new skills and entering the belly of the beast more often just for the sake of it. He’s become, for all intents and purposes, a Superman of the sport.

People thought wrestling Glover Teixeira was his best path to victory at UFC 172, so he outboxed the Brazilian just to prove he could.

Before that, he contested a kickboxing match against Alexander Gustafsson despite what pundits thought best, and even before that he decided to out-wrestle wrestling stalwart Chael Sonnen for his own enjoyment.

The champion has enjoyed quite a run for himself since earning the title in 2011, defending it seven times and pushing his record to 20-1 with perhaps the lamest DQ loss the sport has ever seen serving as his lone black mark.

UFC 182 sees him standing across the cage from a new challenge, that of undefeated former heavyweight Daniel Cormier, an Olympian of years past with skill and character for days. Jones has seen similar obstacles in his past, but he’s not seen this particular obstacle.

In many ways, the possibility exists that he could be staring down his own personal kryptonite come fight night.

Cormier has the real potential to make Jones’ night long and unpleasant, to push him into uncomfortable areas by way of his heavy, bullying style and capacity for explosive, athletic takedowns. Though his resume is less than sterling and he’s getting on in years, he’s nothing for the champion to take lightly.

The fact is that, as he’s rounded out his game and become a near-perfect mixed martial artist, Jones has seen his wrestling falter a little. Where once his opponents couldn’t get inside to rough him up for fear of eating all manners of unique violence in the form of strikes or throws, they’ve more recently found success there.

Teixeira touched him up a few times inside (though that’s undoubtedly where the Brazilian does his best work) and Gustafsson scored a clean takedown despite a nonexistent amateur wrestling pedigree. Those are both great signs for Cormier, who works similarly well in close quarters and will surely land more than a single takedown if given the chance.

That’s the path to victory for the challenger: Embrace being that kryptonite to Jones in the wrestling department. Few people have managed before him, but some have had success in individual elements of that game plan. If Cormier can put them together, he could become champion.

Those words are more easily written than they are executed, however. The very idea that one has to pick disembodied elements of fights and game plans from separate opponents and then stitch them together just to give a challenger a hope speaks to how expert Jones is in the Octagon.

He’s a transcendent talent, the type that should serve as the blueprint for anyone coming behind him who fancies chasing UFC gold one day. Cormier, for all his decoration and respect in the MMA community, has his work cut out for him to take that away.

Everyone knows what he’s got to do to make it happen though. Every Superman has his kryptonite, and Cormier may have it in his possession for the Superman that is Jones by way of his wrestling pedigree and sheer force of will.

For however long their battle lasts, watching that exchange play out should be fascinating.

 

Follow me on Twitter @matthewjryder!

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On January 3, the bitter feud between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier will finally come to a head at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. 

By now, the rivalry that has formed between the UFC light heavyweight champion and the former Strikeforce Heavweight Grand Prix winner has been well documented. The animosity between the two has become great promotional fodder for the organization. 

The time for tough talk has now passed. The question is whether DC’s impressive wrestling pedigree, strength and athleticism will be answered in the Octagon on Saturday night. All the hype aside, there’s no doubting that Cormier presents a unique challenge when compared to the previous seven challengers for Jones’ title. 

Here’s an early look at the main event with a prediction as to who will have his hand raised when it’s all said and done. 

When: Saturday, Jan. 3

Start Time: Fight Pass Prelims at 7 p.m. ET (subscription required); Fox Sports 1 Prelims at 8 p.m. ET; Main Card PPV at 10 p.m. ET

Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas

Live Stream: UFC.tv

Odds via Odds Shark as of Sunday, Dec. 28 at noon ET.

 

Fight Preview

Looking at the odds attached to this bout, it’s clear that the public is buying Cormier as a legitimate threat to the champion. Jones’ -170 line is the lowest it’s been since he took on Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for the title in 2011, according to BestFightOdds.com.

Beside the UFC’s great job of hyping up the fight, there’s a reason for that. 

Cormier‘s wrestling pedigree is well documented. Before becoming an undefeated mixed martial artist, DC was a fourth-place finisher in freestyle wrestling at the 2004 Olympics, a bronze medalist in the 2007 World Championships and a 2008 Team USA wrestling captain. 

What’s more, the former Strikeforce star has demonstrated that his wrestling skills translate to MMA. He emerged victorious in the now-defunct organization’s heavyweight grand prix and sports an undefeated record. 

Looking at the fighters stats up to this point in their careers, the matchup once again looks even:

However, there’s still one mountain that Cormier must climb stylistically—Jon Jones’ reach. As Reed Kuhn of Fightnomics points out, the reach differential is one of the biggest in UFC history: 

If Jones’ freakish wingspan can be counteracted, Cormier has the tools to do it. Overshadowed by his strength and wrestling is the fact that DC has extremely quick hands and is a dynamic athlete himself. There’s a possibility that he’s quick enough to close the distance and catch Jones napping or at least clinch up to set up takedowns. 

Of course, no one is better at utilizing his or her reach than the reigning champion. There’s an equally good chance that Jones will be able to control the distance with an array of leg kicks, jabs and elbows and slowly break down the challenger over the course of the five-round fight. 

Essentially, it all comes down to distance. If Jones can patiently pick apart the challenger, it’s another easy title defense. If Cormier can find ways to close that distance, the champion just might find himself on his back. 

 

Prediction

Another fighter who knows a thing or two about utilizing distance is Alexander Gustafsson. As the lone title contender who has actually experienced some success against Jones, the 6’5″ Swede has unique insight into the champion’s challenge that lies ahead. 

“It’s an interesting matchup,” he told Thomas Gerbasi of UFC.com. “Both are great athletes and it’s going to be a tough fight for sure. But Jones has his height and reach advantage over DC, so I think that will be the key thing in this fight. I think Jones by decision.”

It’s difficult to argue with Gustafsson. Cormier and Jones are very different fighters, but both possess upper-echelon athleticism.

If Cormier is going to pull off the upset, he’ll need to make the most of the times he’s able to close the distance. That means getting the fight to the mat and keeping top control or landing some of his powerful boxing on the inside. 

Basically, he needs to be the Cormier who ragdolled Dan Henderson and not the one who merely kept Frank Mir pinned against the cage at heavyweight. 

Realistically, the task of consistently getting within striking distance of the champion will be too large. Cormier will have his moments in the fight. It’s conceivable that he’ll even spend the majority of one round in top control.

However, Jones should be able to control the pace and distance of the fight for long enough to earn the nod from the judges.

Jones via unanimous decision.  

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Rarely does an event force would-be spectators to take part in an alternate reality, one that inexplicably forces the hands of time to decelerate, lengthening each passing day in its wake. 

But here we stand, a mere six days away from the end of said reality, six days ahead of one of the most anticipated bouts in recent memory between two of the very best fighters the UFC’s light heavyweight division has ever had to offer. In the red corner stands Jon Jones, arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter the planet has ever seen. In the blue corner stands Daniel Cormier, the man most of us have been led to believe is the biggest threat Jones’ title reign has ever seen. 

They don’t seem to like each other, but we don’t mind. In fact, that’s probably a big part of the reason most of us will willingly fork over whatever price the UFC will demand as the world gets ready to meet its rightful 205-pound king. 

Read on as we break down each major aspect of the title bout before predicting the winner.

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You might think it all started in August, when that little modular stage groaned under the anger of the planet’s two baddest light heavyweights, one steaming toward the other, with only a goggle-eyed PR rep and the restrictions of civilian clothing holding them back.

But the history of this beef between Jon Jones, the champion, and Daniel Cormier, the undefeated challenger, runs much deeper. It’s personal, it’s physical, it’s emotional and, yeah, it’s even a little racial.

MMA fans, casual and otherwise, are on a razor’s edge as they wait for these two to mix it up this Saturday at UFC 182, for real and in the cage and with nothing much in place this time to stop the violence.

If you’re not stoked for this one, you’re not paying much attention. Let me help you with that. Here’s a full timeline of the history between these two, chronologically displayed in six easy slides.

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