UPDATE:
Dana White tweeted on Monday evening that Cormier vs. Henderson is not a done deal:
@arielhelwani Ariel is not correct. That fight is not done
Daniel Cormier will not be facing Rafael Cavalcante, after all.
A week after sources close t…
UPDATE:
Dana White tweeted on Monday evening that Cormier vs. Henderson is not a done deal:
@arielhelwani Ariel is not correct. That fight is not done
Daniel Cormier will not be facing Rafael Cavalcante, after all.
A week after sources close to the promotion confirmed to Bleacher Report that the UFC wanted Cormier to face “Feijao” at UFC 175 in July, the promotion has switched directions. MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani today reported that the UFC has opted to instead offer Cormier a fight with Dan Henderson, who scored an incredible come-from-behind knockout win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua last week.
Helwani also said that if Henderson had turned down the fight, Cormier would still be pitted against Cavalcante.
Sources close to the bout confirmed the news with Bleacher Report on Monday.
UFC 175 is headlined by a middleweight title fight between Chris Weidman and Lyoto Machida. Sources close to the bout told Bleacher Report that Cormier vs. Henderson is expected to fill the co-main event role.
UFC 175 is expected to be one of the UFC’s biggest of 2014. It is the cornerstone event for International Fight Week 2014, which also features The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale.
As far as a potential new opponent for Cavalcante, Mike Sawyer of ToughTalkMMA.com speculates that he’ll instead face Ovince St. Preux.
Cormier made his light heavyweight debut last month, beating late replacement Patrick Cummins by TKO in the first round. He is 14-0 thus far in his mixed martial arts career and was one of the UFC’s top heavyweights before electing to drop to 205 pounds.
Henderson has lost three consecutive fights prior to his win, but signed a new long-term contract with the promotion shortly before fighting Rua.
Both Cormier and Henderson are former members of the United States wrestling team.
(Check out this inspiring behind-the-scenes video of Johny Hendricks bouncing back from his loss to Georges St-Pierre to win the welterweight title at UFC 171. / Props: Ask Men)
(Check out this inspiring behind-the-scenes video of Johny Hendricks bouncing back from his loss to Georges St-Pierre to win the welterweight title at UFC 171. / Props: Ask Men)
(Check out this inspiring behind-the-scenes video of Johny Hendricks bouncing back from his loss to Georges St-Pierre to win the welterweight title at UFC 171. / Props: AskMen)
(Check out this inspiring behind-the-scenes video of Johny Hendricks bouncing back from his loss to Georges St-Pierre to win the welterweight title at UFC 171. / Props: AskMen)
One of the many, many things to like about Daniel Cormier is his simple desire to scrap.
We saw this inclination in February after Rashad Evans was forced out of their scheduled UFC 170 fight with an injury and Cormier publicly cajoled matchmakers into…
One of the many, many things to like about Daniel Cormier is his simple desire to scrap.
We saw this inclination in February after Rashad Evans was forced out of their scheduled UFC 170 fight with an injury and Cormier publicly cajoled matchmakers into finding him someone, anyone else to put his fists on instead of scratching him from the card.
Eventually, they dredged up Patrick Cummins, but more on that in a minute.
Cormier’s fight-early, fight-often policy was on display again Wednesday, as Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter reported the fight company is targeting a bout for him against former Strikeforce champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante at UFC 175.
Social media critics have jumped all over it, casting it as a step back for the former Olympic wrestling team captain, who is now 3-0 in the UFC and 14-0 overall.
Assuming the fight comes together, though, Cormier’s message is clear: Confronted by a reality where both Glover Teixeira and Alexander Gustafsson are ahead of him in the light heavyweight pecking order, he’d rather stay busy and paid than wait for the contender carousel to complete its year-long turn.
Taking on a backsliding, but still-dangerous hitter like Feijao is a risky move for a guy who’s already basically assured a future shot at the 205-pound title. However, it’s also very easy to admire.
It speaks to the man’s work ethic and a core belief in himself that he’s among the best light heavyweights in the world. Perhaps to him it doesn’t matter who he fights, or when, since he thinks he’s going to beat them all anyway.
Also, he doesn’t have all day to wait.
Cormier turned 35 years old a week ago and—as talented as he is—he’s obviously working with a limited window in which to ply his trade. He commands somewhere in the neighborhood of $160,000 to fight for the UFC—MMA Junkie reported that his payout for blistering Cummins was $80,000 to show and that much again to win—and those two factors combined likely make the equation very simple for him.
He could either sit at home watching the clock tick or roll the dice and stand to perhaps double his yearly salary to date.
In addition, there is the small matter of the Cummins fight, which ultimately failed to tell spectators much we didn’t already know about Cormier.
It was sweet confirmation to see him look fit and capable at 205 pounds, but after the UFC did its best to prop the former barista up as a legit threat, the end result bordered on depressing and did little to satisfy our curiosity about how high Cormier might fly.
It’s possible the competitor in Cormier secretly left UFC 170 feeling much the same way.
He’d trained for Evans and expected to get a stiff test from a perennial contender and former champion. Instead, he got an unsatisfying gimme fight against a talented but woefully unprepared kid.
It was easy money, but the experience may not have been particularly instructive for him in what to expect from his new life at light heavyweight.
To that end, Cavalcante would be a better way to scratch the itch.
The 33-year-old Brazilian got back into the win column during his last UFC fight, a first-round stoppage over Igor Pokrajac last November. He’s been up and down since winning the Strikeforce title in August of 2010, but would be a worthy opponent and—if nothing else—a far more interesting litmus test than Cummins ever could have been.
At this point, it would be easy for Cormier to make some wise investments with his $160,000 and cool his heels until the Jon Jones-Teixeira-Gustafsson meat grinder spits out a winner for him to face near the end of the year.
It’s commendable—if a little bit scary—that he’s probably going to do the opposite.
You know what they say about great opportunity, though. It all comes up rosy for Cormier if he dispatches Feijao with the same ease as previous opponents like Cummins, Roy Nelson and Frank Mir.
If the unthinkable happens and he loses, however, it would constitute a full-scale disaster for a guy who has just as little time to waste rebuilding his image as waiting on the sideline.
The bottom line is that Cormier is one of the more exciting prospects to grace the 205-pound division in some time. Fans want to see him fight and he looks intent on granting our wish. In a sport that so often revels in the fearlessness of guys like Nick Diaz and gameness of dudes like Donald Cerrone, Cormier’s confidence deserves its due too.
One of the many, many things to like about Daniel Cormier is his simple desire to scrap.
We saw this inclination in February after Rashad Evans was forced out of their scheduled UFC 170 fight with an injury and Cormier publicly cajoled matchmakers into…
One of the many, many things to like about Daniel Cormier is his simple desire to scrap.
We saw this inclination in February after Rashad Evans was forced out of their scheduled UFC 170 fight with an injury and Cormier publicly cajoled matchmakers into finding him someone, anyone else to put his fists on instead of scratching him from the card.
Eventually, they dredged up Patrick Cummins, but more on that in a minute.
Cormier’s fight-early, fight-often policy was on display again Wednesday, as Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter reported the fight company is targeting a bout for him against former Strikeforce champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante at UFC 175.
Social media critics have jumped all over it, casting it as a step back for the former Olympic wrestling team captain, who is now 3-0 in the UFC and 14-0 overall.
Assuming the fight comes together, though, Cormier’s message is clear: Confronted by a reality where both Glover Teixeira and Alexander Gustafsson are ahead of him in the light heavyweight pecking order, he’d rather stay busy and paid than wait for the contender carousel to complete its year-long turn.
Taking on a backsliding, but still-dangerous hitter like Feijao is a risky move for a guy who’s already basically assured a future shot at the 205-pound title. However, it’s also very easy to admire.
It speaks to the man’s work ethic and a core belief in himself that he’s among the best light heavyweights in the world. Perhaps to him it doesn’t matter who he fights, or when, since he thinks he’s going to beat them all anyway.
Also, he doesn’t have all day to wait.
Cormier turned 35 years old a week ago and—as talented as he is—he’s obviously working with a limited window in which to ply his trade. He commands somewhere in the neighborhood of $160,000 to fight for the UFC—MMA Junkie reported that his payout for blistering Cummins was $80,000 to show and that much again to win—and those two factors combined likely make the equation very simple for him.
He could either sit at home watching the clock tick or roll the dice and stand to perhaps double his yearly salary to date.
In addition, there is the small matter of the Cummins fight, which ultimately failed to tell spectators much we didn’t already know about Cormier.
It was sweet confirmation to see him look fit and capable at 205 pounds, but after the UFC did its best to prop the former barista up as a legit threat, the end result bordered on depressing and did little to satisfy our curiosity about how high Cormier might fly.
It’s possible the competitor in Cormier secretly left UFC 170 feeling much the same way.
He’d trained for Evans and expected to get a stiff test from a perennial contender and former champion. Instead, he got an unsatisfying gimme fight against a talented but woefully unprepared kid.
It was easy money, but the experience may not have been particularly instructive for him in what to expect from his new life at light heavyweight.
To that end, Cavalcante would be a better way to scratch the itch.
The 33-year-old Brazilian got back into the win column during his last UFC fight, a first-round stoppage over Igor Pokrajac last November. He’s been up and down since winning the Strikeforce title in August of 2010, but would be a worthy opponent and—if nothing else—a far more interesting litmus test than Cummins ever could have been.
At this point, it would be easy for Cormier to make some wise investments with his $160,000 and cool his heels until the Jon Jones-Teixeira-Gustafsson meat grinder spits out a winner for him to face near the end of the year.
It’s commendable—if a little bit scary—that he’s probably going to do the opposite.
You know what they say about great opportunity, though. It all comes up rosy for Cormier if he dispatches Feijao with the same ease as previous opponents like Cummins, Roy Nelson and Frank Mir.
If the unthinkable happens and he loses, however, it would constitute a full-scale disaster for a guy who has just as little time to waste rebuilding his image as waiting on the sideline.
The bottom line is that Cormier is one of the more exciting prospects to grace the 205-pound division in some time. Fans want to see him fight and he looks intent on granting our wish. In a sport that so often revels in the fearlessness of guys like Nick Diaz and gameness of dudes like Donald Cerrone, Cormier’s confidence deserves its due too.
A light heavyweight bout between highly ranked light heavyweight contender Daniel Cormier and former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Rafael Cavalcante is in the works, but not finalized, for UFC 175.
Sources close to the bout informed Ble…
A light heavyweight bout between highly ranked light heavyweight contender Daniel Cormier and former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Rafael Cavalcante is in the works, but not finalized, for UFC 175.
Sources close to the bout informed Bleacher Report of the news on Saturday. The shakeup to UFC 173 started a whirlwind of rumors about Cormier fighting Dan Henderson on the card, but Cormier told Bleacher Report on Wednesday that he will not be ready to fight by that date.
The event takes place July 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. It is currently unknown where the fight will fall on the pay-per-view card. The event is headlined by a middleweight title match between Chris Weidman and LyotoMachida that was originally scheduled for UFC 173 but has since been postponed due to a minor knee injury suffered by Weidman.
Cormier, No. 5 in the division, made his light heavyweight debut by quickly dispatching newcomer Patrick Cummins at UFC 171. Many expected him to face a top-ranked contender in his next fight, perhaps even the winner of the UFC 172 bout between Phil Davis and Anthony Johnson. But that’s not the case, as Cormier will likely face the 14th-ranked Cavalcante. Cormier is continuing his pursuit of a title shot, but he’s behind Alexander Gustafsson, who faces the winner of UFC 172’s main event between Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira.
Cavalcante‘s last entrance into the Octagon came in November, when he beat the durable Igor Pokrajac in the first round. He is currently 1-1 in the UFC, with his loss coming at the hands of Thiago Silva. Cavalcante‘s biggest career win would likely be his 2010 capture of the Strikeforce light heavyweight title with a win over Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal.
UFC 175 is one of the cornerstone events of the UFC’s International Fight Week, which also features The Ultimate Fighter finale, capped off with a main event between Frankie Edgar and B.J. Penn.
