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.
JordyMcElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Fanrag Sports.
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.
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.
“Oh the ‘f*ck you’ kicks? Yeah. That’s what that was. I was either trying to kick and break my leg or his. I was very upset.”
That’s how Donald Cerronedescribed his assault on Myles Jury‘s legs at the end of their co-main event at UFC 182. Cerrone was superbummed that his fight with Jury wasn’t the sort of barnburner that fans are used to from Cowboy, and said that hearing the fans boo burned his soul. And so, he took his anger out on Jury’s ass — a thrashing that looks even more savage when you add Indiana Jones whip-sounds. Enjoy.
“Oh the ‘f*ck you’ kicks? Yeah. That’s what that was. I was either trying to kick and break my leg or his. I was very upset.”
That’s how Donald Cerronedescribed his assault on Myles Jury‘s legs at the end of their co-main event at UFC 182. Cerrone was superbummed that his fight with Jury wasn’t the sort of barnburner that fans are used to from Cowboy, and said that hearing the fans boo burned his soul. And so, he took his anger out on Jury’s ass — a thrashing that looks even more savage when you add Indiana Jones whip-sounds. Enjoy.
No matter the challenge, light heavyweight champion Jon Jones continues to retain his 205-pound crown.
At UFC 182, Daniel Cormier put more pressure on Jones than anybody else has inside the Octagon. However, Jones was able to land the better shots even…
No matter the challenge, light heavyweight champion Jon Jones continues to retain his 205-pound crown.
At UFC 182, Daniel Cormier put more pressure on Jones than anybody else has inside the Octagon. However, Jones was able to land the better shots even when Cormier was able to work inside, and the champion didn’t allow a takedown until late in the final round.
It was another great performance by Jones, who lost only one round on the scorecards. In picking up the decision win, Jones earned his eighth straight title defense, putting him within two wins of matching Anderson Silva’s UFC record.
With another contender thwarted, what’s next for Jones? And where does Cormier go now?
Here is a look at the matchups that should be put together for Jones, Cormier and the rest of the UFC 182 competitors.
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 outstruckCormier126-78, 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.”
Even after back-to-back losses to Chris Weidman, former longtime UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva still carried the moniker of the greatest mixed martial artist of all time.
Silva won 16 UFC fights in a row between June 2006 and October 2012, defe…
Even after back-to-back losses to Chris Weidman, former longtime UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva still carried the moniker of the greatest mixed martial artist of all time.
Silva won 16 UFC fights in a row between June 2006 and October 2012, defending his middleweight strap 10 times in the process.
Silva’s remarkable run still stands as one of the most prolific in the sport’s history, and it forever ingrained his name among the elite in MMA lore. However, a fighter who has long deserved a place in the conversation, Jon Jones, made a strong argument for passing Silva at the top of the GOAT list when he overcame arguably his greatest challenge in his 6.5-year UFC career on Saturday.
Jones beat second-ranked and previously unbeaten Daniel Cormier at his own game to score his fifth win over a current UFC Top 10-ranked light heavyweight on Saturday at UFC 182.
Had Bones not been disqualified for throwing illegal downward elbows on Matt Hamill’s face at The Ultimate Fighter Season 10 Finale, Jones’ win over Cormier would have tied him with Silva for most consecutive UFC victories (16). Jones was beating Hamill handily before being disqualified.
By topping Cormier in such impressive fashion, Jones, who defended his light heavyweight strap for the eighth consecutive time, surpassed the great Silva in the highly debatable conversation of the sport’s GOAT.
Examining the careers of Silva and Jones,,it’s clear to see that Bones has faced stronger opponents and molded a more well-rounded skill set than The Spider. The 27-year-old Bones has also achieved his greatest at a younger age and has done so in a more evolved version of the sport that Silva once ruled.
Jones has triumphed over more UFC champs (five) than Silva (three), and he’s beaten them all in a less-than-four-year span. During his title run, Jones has only faced three challengers (his last three opponents) who were making their first and only appearance in a title fight.
Silva, conversely, has taken on five guys who were appearing in their first and only title bouts. And standing 6’4″ and enjoying a division-long 84.5-inch reach, Jones is an even more intimidating and imposing figure at 205 than Silva is at 185.
It’s a tricky debate delving into the skill sets of Jones and Silva as strikers, simply because both men have perpetually displayed such great resilience and such an array of dazzling techniques. But in terms of ground fighting, wrestling in particular, Jones, who has been taken down once in his career, holds a clear advantage over Silva, who surrendered three takedowns in one fight against Chael Sonnen.
While Jones may have—and may still—emulate Silva, the fact remains that he can do the things Silva does best, and The Spider can’t match his strong suits. Silva will never score an early takedown and pummel a foe into submission in top-guard position with elbows and punches like Jones has done. The Spider also wouldn’t attempt to wear an opponent down up against the cage round after round while blending in effective dirty boxing and elbow strikes like Jones did to Cormier.
In the same vein, Jones could easily mimic something out of Silva’s repertoire and render an opponent unconscious with a flying knee or a front kick.
Add in the fact that Jones, who’s arguably just entering his prime, has a sturdier chin and just as much perseverance and determination as Silva, and it becomes evident that Bones has surpassed his idol in terms of greatness.
During the UFC 182 post-fight press conference, company president Dana White didn’t quite declare Jones the GOAT, but he essentially said the Jackson’s MMA stalwart is heading in that direction.
“It’s hard for me because Jon Jones is so young and has so many more things to accomplish, but yeah, he’s beaten the who’s who, he’s cleaned out the division and he’s breaking records. If this continues, yeah, he’s probably the greatest ever.”
Jones’ longtime Jackson’s MMA teammate, Cub Swanson, chimed in with opinion of Jones’ legacy:
When asked at the UFC 182 post-fight presser where he stands in the GOAT conversation with Silva, Jones chose to respond modestly.
Anderson, I’ll start by saying is a guy I respect tremendously. I’ve been looking up to him since I was about 19 (or) 18 years old. I’ve studied all of his fights (and) I really want to model my career after him. Anderson has won so many world titles and you can’t discredit what he’s been able to do. At the same time, with that being said (and) with all due respect, I believe that I’ve had the toughest resume in the history of this sport. I’ve fought so many amazing athletes and so many times people thought I was going to lose. I will give Anderson and Georges (St-Pierre) being above me (because) I think that attitude will keep me honest (and) it will keep me determined and driven. I will keep that as my psychology until it can’t be argued anymore.
Jones will get a chance to further cement his legacy as the GOAT when he faces the winner of the matchup between Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony Johnson, which takes place on Jan. 24 at UFC on Fox 14.
Gustafsson gave Jones his stiffest test inside the Octagon to date at UFC 165 in September 2013. Jones won a controversial unanimous decision in what several major media outlets named the “Fight of the Year.”
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.
