Plenty of fighters publicly criticized UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones for not accepting a last-minute change-of-opponent fight with Chael Sonnen after Dan Henderson pulled out of their scheduled Sep. 1st UFC 151 title fight because of a knee injury but Daniel Cormier added a lil something extra to his. In a recent interview with BJPenn.com, the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix champion said that Jones owed it to the UFC to fight Sonnen and help keep UFC 151 together and also mentioned that he’d be happy to take Jones on himself.
“Right now no one wants to fight Jon Jones, but shit, I’ll do it. I’ll fight Jon Jones,” Cormier said.
“Guys are turning down the fight; you have to go to an old school fighter like Vitor Belfort to step up to the plate. That’s no knock on Machida or Shogun, but if those guys want to coach on The Ultimate Fighter and move off to the side and let me fight Jones, I’ll do it. If no one wants the title shot then give it to Daniel!”
Plenty of fighters publicly criticized UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones for not accepting a last-minute change-of-opponent fight with Chael Sonnen after Dan Henderson pulled out of their scheduled Sep. 1st UFC 151 title fight because of a knee injury but Daniel Cormier added a lil something extra to his. In a recent interview with BJPenn.com, the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix champion said that Jones owed it to the UFC to fight Sonnen and help keep UFC 151 together and also mentioned that he’d be happy to take Jones on himself.
“Right now no one wants to fight Jon Jones, but shit, I’ll do it. I’ll fight Jon Jones,” Cormier said.
“Guys are turning down the fight; you have to go to an old school fighter like Vitor Belfort to step up to the plate. That’s no knock on Machida or Shogun, but if those guys want to coach on The Ultimate Fighter and move off to the side and let me fight Jones, I’ll do it. If no one wants the title shot then give it to Daniel!”
The third-person-speaking Cormier has the speed, power and wrestling to possibly give a fighter like Jones problems. He does not, however, have a reach that would likely daunt the champion.
At 5’11 Cormier would be a very short light heavyweight and would start out each round very far away from Jones’ grill because of “Bones’” record-setting reach. Cormier would be a short 205lber but amazingly fights at heavyweight, a barrier to a future fight with Jones.
The last time of note that Cormier tried to drop weight, at the 2008 Summer Olympics, he nearly killed himself by way of extreme dehydration. The pudgy powerhouse admits that if he is ever to move down a weight class to 205lbs, he’ll need to do it in a smarter way.
“When I went to rehydrate myself, my body started doing weird things,” Cormier recounts of the symptoms stemming from his acute renal failure at the summer games in ’08. “I was throwing up everywhere. I started cramping really bad. Then, I couldn’t walk.
“Listen, I’m a clear thinker and I know that I carry some extra fat and I could probably get to 205 if I needed to,” said Cormier. “But it would have to be a total lifestyle change. I just can’t do it the wrong way anymore.”
For now, Cormier has a huge heavyweight on his hands in former UFC champion Frank Mir as the two are scheduled to lock horns on the October Strikeforce card. Jon Jones will face former light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort later this month at UFC 152: “We don’t need no stinkin’ 151.”
(Drunk foul shots are always the toughest foul shots.)
Well…this is interesting. According to a report by USA Today and in accordance with both Strikeforce and UFC officials, it appears that Daniel Cormier’s first and last Strikeforce title defense against none other than former UFC Heavyweight champion Frank Mir. The fight will go down as the co-main event of the Gilbert Melendez vs. Pat Healy headlined Strikeforce event on September 29th, a decision that will in no way come back and bite them in the ass. Seriously, the co-main event? WHO IS MAKING THESE DECISIONS?! The guy who invented the Candwich?!
[UPDATE] It appears that the fight is now being looked at for an October or November Strikeforce card, likely as the main event.
Minor rant aside, Dana White informed USA Today that Mir would make for a perfect test for Cormier:
There has been a lot of speculation as to who Cormier would fight next, and this is the fight that makes the most sense.
The reality is, Cormier is one of the best heavyweights in the world. He just won the grand prix and beat Josh Barnett. He needs to fight opponents of that caliber, and Frank Mir is that guy.
A surprise considering Mir is on the heels of a second round (T)KO loss to Junior Dos Santos? Further proof that the remaining Strikeforce belts aren’t worth the pleather and scrap metal they’re made of? A little bit of both?
Help us decide.
More on this story after the jump.
(Drunk foul shots are always the toughest foul shots.)
Well…this is interesting. According to a report by USA Today and in accordance with both Strikeforce and UFC officials, it appears that Daniel Cormier’s first and last Strikeforce title defense against none other than former UFC Heavyweight champion Frank Mir. The fight will go down as the co-main event of the Gilbert Melendez vs. Pat Healy headlined Strikeforce event on September 29th, a decision that will in no way come back and bite them in the ass. Seriously, the co-main event? WHO IS MAKING THESE DECISIONS?! The guy who invented the Candwich?!
[UPDATE] It appears that the fight is now being looked at for an October or November Strikeforce card, likely as the main event.
Minor rant aside, Dana White informed USA Today that Mir would make for a perfect test for Cormier:
There has been a lot of speculation as to who Cormier would fight next, and this is the fight that makes the most sense.
The reality is, Cormier is one of the best heavyweights in the world. He just won the grand prix and beat Josh Barnett. He needs to fight opponents of that caliber, and Frank Mir is that guy.
A surprise considering Mir is on the heels of a second round (T)KO loss to Junior Dos Santos? Further proof that the remaining Strikeforce belts aren’t worth the pleather and scrap metal they’re made of? A little bit of both?
Help us decide.
In an interview with MMAWeekly, Cormier stated that he could not be more thrilled to be fighting a big name in Mir, considering he was angling for a fight with Tim Sylvia beforehand:
You’ve got to tip your hat off to the executives at Zuffa for doing something like that and to Frank Mir for doing it. I respect Frank greatly for stepping in and taking this fight. This fight can elevate my status in the sport a ton.
Tim Sylvia’s accomplished a lot, but he just hasn’t really fought in the top of the sport for a while. No disrespect to Tim, but this is a much easier fight to get pumped up for. I dropped my phone a couple of times while I was trying to look at Twitter.
Now that it’s official, I honestly can’t help but feel a little bad for Frank (yes, that’s possible). Aside from the fact that he is essential dropping down to the Triple-A’s for a fight, the guy has suffered more than a couple rather brutal KO losses as of late, and although he stands as good a chance of beating Cormier as any heavyweight not named Junior Dos Santos, lord knows what another knockout loss will do to both his mental well being and his status as a top-tier heavyweight.
On the other hand, this is probably one of the best possible matchups for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner, and should make for one hell of a fight for the heavyweight division to go out on. There is also the fact that Cormier will likely break one, if not both of his hands in the first two rounds, making it much easier for Mir to avoid permanent brain damage if he is able to drag the fight into the latter rounds.
Currently our top pick for the greatest undefeated fighter in the sport today, Cormier is fresh off the aforementioned win over Josh Barnett, in which “Black Fedor” used a combination of effective striking and a few beautiful slams to keep Barnett off balance en route to a unanimous decision victory. A two-time Senior Freestyle Olympic trials winner and an NCAA Division 1 All American with incredible knockout power to boot, Cormier poses many similar threats to Mir as Shane Carwin did in their interim title fight at UFC 111. Let’s just hope that the ref can step in a little quicker this time should Cormier manage to put Mir’s lights out. Otherwise, Mir is going to have to start tattooing information onto his body and taking photos of his friends and family to deal with his inability to form new memories. Always remember Sammy Jenkis, Frank.
But what do you think, Potato Nation? Is this a good matchup for either man, and how do you think it will go down?
After battering and busting up Urijah Faber en route to his 29th straight victory, newly-crowned interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao proved to the world at UFC 149 that his win streak was the product of hard work and dedication, not the culmination of years spent crushing cans that seemed to be the case for a certain somebody making his long awaited debut just one fight before. This is not to say that Hector Lombard doesn’t push himself as a fighter — by all accounts he does the exact opposite, in fact — but to say that Lombard was the first fighter to come to the UFC on a huge win streak, only to have said streak invalidated almost immediately would be a bold faced lie (Jason Reinhardt, anyone? How about our buddy Sean McCorkle?).
But when guys who have spent years fighting below their level come up short on the big stage, it just makes it all the more impressive to see the Barao’s and Ryan Jimmo‘s of the world succeed in living up to their hype. Simply put, it’s no coincidence that most of the guys with the greatest win streaks in the sport are all champions, and the rest are either made up (I shall refer you to the infamous tale of Craig Rehage as my primary example) or busted as soon as the fighter faces some legit competition.
However, when trying to determine which champion has the most impressive win streak of them all, we surprisingly found ourselves at odds. Some of us went with the obvious choice in Anderson Silva, some of us thought that Jon Jones’ streak was more impressive, and ReX thought that Ronda Rousey’s run stood atop them all before snatching a copy of her ESPN magazine shoot and running off to our executive bathroom. He has yet to return.
So as is often the case when we are struggling to decide upon an issue, we will hand the power over to you, Potato Nation. After the jump, you will find a survey. The topic: “Which Current Champion Has the Greatest Win Streak in MMA?” You WILL vote on this poll, and you WILL leave us your convincing arguments in the comments section. Sound good?
After battering and busting up Urijah Faber en route to his 29th straight victory, newly-crowned interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao proved to the world at UFC 149 that his win streak was the product of hard work and dedication, not the culmination of years spent crushing cans that seemed to be the case for a certain somebody making his long awaited debut just one fight before. This is not to say that Hector Lombard doesn’t push himself as a fighter — by all accounts he does the exact opposite, in fact — but to say that Lombard was the first fighter to come to the UFC on a huge win streak, only to have said streak invalidated almost immediately would be a bold faced lie (Jason Reinhardt, anyone? How about our buddy Sean McCorkle?).
But when guys who have spent years fighting below their level come up short on the big stage, it just makes it all the more impressive to see the Barao’s and Ryan Jimmo‘s of the world succeed in living up to their hype. Simply put, it’s no coincidence that most of the guys with the greatest win streaks in the sport are all champions, and the rest are either made up (I shall refer you to the infamous tale of Craig Rehage as my primary example) or busted as soon as the fighter faces some legit competition.
However, when trying to determine which champion has the most impressive win streak of them all, we surprisingly found ourselves at odds. Some of us went with the obvious choice in Anderson Silva, some of us thought that Jon Jones’ streak was more impressive, and ReX thought that Ronda Rousey’s run stood atop them all before snatching a copy of her ESPN magazine shoot and running off to our executive bathroom. He has yet to return.
So as is often the case when we are struggling to decide upon an issue, we will hand the power over to you, Potato Nation. After the jump, you will find a survey. The topic: “Which Current Champion Has the Greatest Win Streak in MMA?” You WILL vote on this poll, and you WILL leave us your convincing arguments in the comments section. Sound good?
Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world’s leading questionnaire tool.
Last night, news of a former UFC star’s long-awaited return began circulating on the Internet. Of course, I’m talking about Logan Stanton’s surprise appearance at the UFC 149 weigh-ins. In a far-less-important related story, there were also reports about ex-UFC heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia being signed to fight Daniel Cormier in Strikeforce. Since being humiliated by pudgy boxer Ray Mercer in June 2009, Sylvia has gone 7-1 in eight different regional promotions (with six wins by stoppage due to strikes), and maybe the time was right for a high-profile comeback. If you’ll recall, Cormier himself wasn’t against the idea.
Unfortunately, those reports were bullshit, as UFC president Dana White confirmed with the UG. “Long story, but yes, Tim is not with Zuffa,” White said. Sources indicate that negotiations were in fact going on, but for some reason Sylvia and Zuffa couldn’t come to terms. We’ll update you if more details come out. Cormier is still without an opponent for his September 29th Strikeforce swan song.
Last night, news of a former UFC star’s long-awaited return began circulating on the Internet. Of course, I’m talking about Logan Stanton’s surprise appearance at the UFC 149 weigh-ins. In a far-less-important related story, there were also reports about ex-UFC heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia being signed to fight Daniel Cormier in Strikeforce. Since being humiliated by pudgy boxer Ray Mercer in June 2009, Sylvia has gone 7-1 in eight different regional promotions (with six wins by stoppage due to strikes), and maybe the time was right for a high-profile comeback. If you’ll recall, Cormier himself wasn’t against the idea.
Unfortunately, those reports were bullshit, as UFC president Dana White confirmed with the UG. “Long story, but yes, Tim is not with Zuffa,” White said. Sources indicate that negotiations were in fact going on, but for some reason Sylvia and Zuffa couldn’t come to terms. We’ll update you if more details come out. Cormier is still without an opponent for his September 29th Strikeforce swan song.
(No, really Clay. Make yourself comfortable. Props: @JoeLauzon)
The UFC’s annual Fighter Summit — in which every fighter under the Zuffa roster is forcibly brought together for a series of lectures meant to educate and inspire — went down earlier this week in Las Vegas, and judging from this epic Sherdog thread, it was a nightmarish endurance test of boring presentations and insane guest speakers.
Browsing through the photos, you can just feel how uncomfortably warm the room was, how early the start-times were, how soul-crushingly dull some of those presentations turned out to be. (Anybody who’s suffered through an 8 a.m. Intro to Philosophy course in college can certainly relate.) The fighters coped as best as they could — mostly by napping and doodling. We’ve hand-picked some of our favorite photos that were tweeted out during the ordeal, and put them in the gallery below. Enjoy.
The UFC’s annual Fighter Summit — in which every fighter under the Zuffa roster is forcibly brought together for a series of lectures meant to educate and inspire — went down earlier this week in Las Vegas, and judging from this epic Sherdog thread, it was a nightmarish endurance test of boring presentations and insane guest speakers.
Browsing through the photos, you can just feel how uncomfortably warm the room was, how early the start-times were, how soul-crushingly dull some of those presentations turned out to be. (Anybody who’s suffered through an 8am Intro to Philosophy course in college can certainly relate.) The fighters coped as best as they could — mostly by napping and doodling. We’ve hand-picked some of our favorite photos that were tweeted out during the ordeal, and put them in the gallery above. Enjoy.
