As one of the most intriguing fights of 2014, Rashad Evans and Daniel Cormier are set to do battle as the co-main event at a Ronda Rousey-charged UFC 170.
Their light heavyweight bout has massive title implications as Cormier is making his division deb…
As one of the most intriguing fights of 2014, Rashad Evans and Daniel Cormier are set to do battle as the co-main event at a Ronda Rousey-charged UFC 170.
Their light heavyweight bout has massive title implications as Cormier is making his division debut following back-to-back one-sided victories at heavyweight.
Considering “Suga” and “DC” are two of the most athletic fighters in the world, sparks shall fly on Feb. 22. But that doesn’t mean the UFC Tonight co-hosts will remain all buddy-buddy leading up to Fight Night.
“I think he’s kind of scared to text me now,” said Evans in a recent interview with MMA Junkie Radio. “But the thing about it is, you’ve got to put it on hold. You can’t be palling around, because it’s a fight. If I allow myself to think any other way than he’s someone who’s trying to separate me from consciousness, I’ve already lost.”
If you remember, Evans just fought another one of his MMA pals as he absolutely destroyed ChaelSonnen at UFC 167. Leading up to their fight the former champion made numerous suggestions about Sonnen being the aggressive outlet for countless weeks of training, not eating and not seeing his kids, so this time should be no different.
As far as Cormier is concerned, he hasn’t cut this much weight since his days as an Olympic standout.
“He couldn’t make 211 (pounds) five years ago or so for the Olympics, so it’s going to be hard if he’s a little bit older,” added Evans. “So it’s going to be hard, but maybe he has discipline now that he didn’t have then.”
In any case, Cormier should provide Evans with one of his toughest fights to date. Even after dropping all that weight, the former Strikeforce king still possesses the best wrestling in MMA and very heavy hands.
“Man, I hope it will be a big factor,” said Evans regarding the potential speed difference. “But you never know. I can just imagine the transition from going against a guy who is fast and is one of the smaller (guys) at light heavyweight, versus going with the guys that he’s used to going against with heavyweights”
Daniel Cormier is a funny customer.
He’s an undefeated heavyweight at a time (and in a sport) where that’s not a routine commodity.
He’s an Olympian wrestler with the type of track record and character that most people could only dream of.
He can talk …
He’s an undefeated heavyweight at a time (and in a sport) where that’s not a routine commodity.
He’s an Olympian wrestler with the type of track record and character that most people could only dream of.
He can talk a little trash when he wants, and it’s usually more clever than the standard “Imma beat that dude bad” that’s shown up on more than one UFC Countdown special.
He’s made the deft career decision to drop a weight class, where he’ll be met by longtime contender Rashad Evans. Pass that test, and he’ll fight Jon Jones for the 205-pound title at some point in 2014.
And yet people don’t really seem to care that much.
There isn’t even really a great reason for it. They just don’t seem to care.
Coming off of his surprise win in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix a couple of years ago, Cormier had hype. He’d walked into that tournament as an alternate and romped to the crown, starching Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and trouncing Josh Barnett.
But long delays between fights and uninteresting showings when he has been in the cage have hurt his marketability. It isn’t as easy to sell Cormier as it was before he was in the UFC, which is both backwards and bewildering.
The encouraging part, though? Jones being on the horizon. Many have tipped Cormier as the last great hope to dethrone the light heavyweight king, particularly if Swedish slugger Alex Gustafsson can’t get it right on his second try sometime this year.
It’s a fight that’s interesting because of Cormier’s skills and how they mesh with those of the champion, and also because the two genuinely seem to dislike one another. Jones has come to embrace his heel persona, and Cormier has proved he has enough silver in his tongue to ruffle his feathers.
In terms of a recipe for stardom, a bout between Jones and Cormier places all the ingredients on the table. It’s up to those two to mix them all up and throw them in the oven.
If that mix goes awry for Cormier though—be it in his lead-up to a Jones fight, his performance once he gets there or should he blow it before he ever gets that chance by losing to Evans—that’s basically the end of the line.
Not for him as a fighter, but definitely for him as a draw.
He’s simply not going to have a better chance at a star-making turn than in a fight with Jones, and turning 35 this year doesn’t give him much time for second chances anyway.
Thus, that’s what it boils down to for Daniel Cormier in his quest for MMA stardom: Get your fight with Jon Jones, or fade into bolivian. It’s not about his perfect record or his Olympic background or his personality, it’s about getting to Jones, getting that spotlight and getting that cheddar.
That’s not an easy road. But if being a star was easy, everyone would do it.
Daniel Cormier will make his light heavyweight debut at UFC 170 when he meets former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans in the main event.
The five-round bout is booked for UFC 170 on Feb. 22 in Las Vegas.
Alexander Gustafsson leads the field …
The five-round bout is booked for UFC 170 on Feb. 22 in Las Vegas.
Alexander Gustafsson leads the field for who gets the next title shot at 205 pounds, but he will have to beat JimiManuwa to earn that distinction. Cormier and Evans are right behind him in the pecking order, and a big win at UFC 170 could put either of their names opposite the champion’s in 2014.
There is a lot on the line for the two Fox Sports analysts, and it will be one of the most intriguing matchups in all of 2014.
Here s an early preview of the important tilt which could have title implications.
(Sanchez’s contract is officially for eight more fights, but the UFC reserves the right to take him out behind the shed at any time and put him out of his misery. / Photo via Getty)
MMA contracts are unique among professional sports, in the sense that long-term agreements aren’t necessarily beneficial to the athletes. The deals that Cormier and Sanchez signed with the UFC bear absolutely no resemblance to the 15-year, $67.5 million dollar “lottery ticket” that NHL goalie Rick DiPietro signed in 2006. After failing to live up to expectations, DiPietro’s contract was bought out in 2013, at $1.5 million a year for the next 16 years.
That’s what a contract is, after all — an employer’s obligation to pay a certain amount of money for services rendered. What the UFC offers its fighters is something different. It’s like a contract, but not exactly, and it results from the uniquely lopsided power structure in this sport, where there’s essentially one major-league team and no player’s union.
In MMA if you fail to live up to expectations and lose fights, your contract can simply be terminated at any time, and for a variety of reasons. When Eddie Alvarez‘s contract was made public, outsiders got a chance to see the long list of scenarios in which the UFC can cut an athlete loose. As the article’s author Jonathan Snowden notes “So, all those UFC contracts that claim to be for eight or 10 fights? That’s only true if you keep winning. Otherwise, the contract is only as long as the UFC wants it to be.”
A quote from that article, from Northwestern University labor law professor Zev Eigen, shows how imbalanced contracts are for UFC fighters:
(Sanchez’s contract is officially for eight more fights, but the UFC reserves the right to take him out behind the shed at any time and put him out of his misery. / Photo via Getty)
MMA contracts are unique among professional sports, in the sense that long-term agreements aren’t necessarily beneficial to the athletes. The deals that Cormier and Sanchez signed with the UFC bear absolutely no resemblance to the 15-year, $67.5 million dollar “lottery ticket” that NHL goalie Rick DiPietro signed in 2006. After failing to live up to expectations, DiPietro’s contract was bought out in 2013, at $1.5 million a year for the next 16 years.
That’s what a contract is, after all — an employer’s obligation to pay a certain amount of money for services rendered. What the UFC offers its fighters is something different. It’s like a contract, but not exactly, and it results from the uniquely lopsided power structure in this sport, where there’s essentially one major-league team and no player’s union.
In MMA if you fail to live up to expectations and lose fights, your contract can simply be terminated at any time, and for a variety of reasons. When Eddie Alvarez‘s contract was made public, outsiders got a chance to see the long list of scenarios in which the UFC can cut an athlete loose. As the article’s author Jonathan Snowden notes “So, all those UFC contracts that claim to be for eight or 10 fights? That’s only true if you keep winning. Otherwise, the contract is only as long as the UFC wants it to be.”
A quote from that article, from Northwestern University labor law professor Zev Eigen, shows how imbalanced contracts are for UFC fighters:
“The term unilaterally benefits the employer with no reciprocal benefit to the fighter. It’s completely one-sided, completely unfair and seems to suggest that any term is a material term for purposes of the employer. Every breach could be a material breach for the fighter, but nothing is for the UFC.”
So when 38-year-old ex-champ Anderson Silva signs a 10-fight contract after his first loss in the company, we shouldn’t interpret it as a show of good faith or support from his bosses. That’s just the UFC saying, “We’ve got you until you decide to retire, and if you try to work for a competing promotion after you leave, we’ll sue you just like we sued Randy.”
But what if you keep winning all your fights? In that case, you are locked into the pay scale that you agreed to at the beginning of your contract. Presumably your market value will go up as you win fights and challenge for titles, but if your market value exceeds what you are currently getting paid, you can’t really capitalize on it. You can try to re-negotiate your contract, and maybe the UFC will agree to it. Or maybe Dana White will tell everyone about your ridiculous request and publicly trash you during one of his media scrums.
The value of having another high-paying organization in the MMA landscape like Bellator (or OneFC, apparently) is that you can use their offer to leverage a higher paying contract out of the UFC. However, if you are tied to a long-term deal, you can’t take advantage of it. As Cage Potato writer Brian D’Souza pointed out, if UFC fighters are tied up to long-term deals, “No other promoter can enter the big leagues of MMA unless they build their own stars or wait 3-4 years.” Having fighters sign long-term contracts is really only a benefit to the UFC, and it’s a massive benefit.
An eight-fight contract for Daniel Cormier, Diego Sanchez, or any other UFC fighter is not job security, even though it may sound like that to people who don’t follow the business of the sport. We’ve racked our brains trying to think of another professional entity with a similar employer/employee dynamic, and the closest example that comes to mind is the military, where they can give you a dishonorable discharge if you screw up, but you can’t just leave any time you want like a normal “at will” job.
That’s just something to keep in mind for all you MMA fighters out there. If the UFC offers you a long term contract, you’re not being hired — you’re enlisting.
Stepping into the Octagon on fight night is the moment when fighters finally get to show what they are made of. The cage door will close, the referee will step aside, and they will attempt to prove their superiority against the challenger standing acro…
Stepping into the Octagon on fight night is the moment when fighters finally get to show what they are made of. The cage door will close, the referee will step aside, and they will attempt to prove their superiority against the challenger standing across from them in the cage.
While the live-action world of a UFC fight allows fighters the opportunity to prove themselves , the rigorous process of preparation for that night goes largely unseen. Aside from the circumstantial short-notice bout, every fighter typically engages in a six- to eight-week training camp to prepare for the task at hand.
Once the bout agreement is signed, a fighter gets to look forward to three months of gym time while their coaches and teammates whip, twist and pound them into fighting shape. Where there are the occasional days off throughout the journey, the large majority of a fighter’s time is spent within the walls of the gym as they attempt to push themselves to new heights.
That said, all of this work is done so that when they step into the Octagon for the fight, they will be a new and improved version of the fighter they were the last time around.
There is no doubt the glory of getting your hand raised at the end of the battle is what every fighter aspires to achieve, but the work on the road to reach that destination is nothing short of tedious. Bleacher Report caught up with a collection of UFC fighters to get their takes on what part of the training process they dread the most, and their answers provide an in-depth look at what they go through to prepare for battle.
There have been rumblings for a week, but it is now official; Daniel Cormier will make his light heavyweight debut opposite former light heavyweight Rashad Evans. The announcement was made by Evans himself on the UFC Fight Night 33 Prefight Show on Fox…
There have been rumblings for a week, but it is now official; Daniel Cormier will make his light heavyweight debut opposite former light heavyweight Rashad Evans. The announcement was made by Evans himself on the UFC Fight Night 33 Prefight Show on Fox Sports 2.
Evans is a once-elite fighter who fell on hard times following a loss to current champion and at-the-time bitter rival Jon Jones. He followed that up with an ugly, painful decision loss to aged striker Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in what was supposed to be a squash match. He has rebounded since, however, taking a split-decision win over Dan Henderson and following that up with an impressive TKO over ChaelSonnen.
Cormier, meanwhile, is widely regarded as the third-best heavyweight in MMA, behind only champion, friend and teammate Cain Velasquez, and former champion Junior dos Santos. His Olympic-caliber wrestling has earned him victories over numerous top heavyweights including Josh Barnett, Roy Nelson and Antonio Silva. However, he refuses to face Velasquez in the cage and as such, is taking his talents to the light heavyweight division in hopes of a shot at gold.
UFC 170 will take place on February 22, 2014. The bout is expected to be a five-round main event. Thus far, no other fights have been announced for the card.
The bout has profound title implications. Cormier was widely regarded as the next in line to face Jon Jones before fans began calling for a rematch with Alexander Gustafsson. Evans, meanwhile, has begun stringing together wins and, should he beat Cormier, would arguably be the next in line for a shot at the belt.
Stick with Bleacher Report for more UFC 170 details as they become available.
As one of the most intriguing fights of 2014, Rashad Evans and Daniel Cormier are set to do battle as the co-main event at a Ronda Rousey-charged UFC 170.
