UFC 182 is set for two of the most prolific light heavyweight fighters to ever grace the center of the Octagon in Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier.
It’s a foreground for what may turn out to be the greatest champion collision this side of Chuck Liddell vs….
UFC 182 is set for two of the most prolific light heavyweight fighters to ever grace the center of the Octagon in Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier.
It’s a foreground for what may turn out to be the greatest champion collision this side of Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz, with the bad blood to fuel the flame.
But before the big dogs bark it out this Saturday in Las Vegas, two of the very best lightweight contenders in the promotion will go to work.
Now even though undefeated Myles Jury doesn’t possess the linear track record of his opponent Donald “The Cowboy” Cerrone, he does command the fluidity, creativity and drive to defeat him.
It will be up to one of the hottest fighters in the sport right now to prolong his divisional ascension, knock off the young Fury and work his way toward a rematch with champion Anthony Pettis.
Here is the head-to-toe breakdown for Cerrone vs. Jury as we gear up for 2015’s much-anticipated launch.
Donald Cerrone has earned every ounce of his reputation.
The hard-charging lightweight’s “anytime, anywhere” approach to the fight game has made him somewhat of an anomaly in the current realm of mixed martial arts, where the large majority of competit…
Donald Cerrone has earned every ounce of his reputation.
The hard-charging lightweight’s “anytime, anywhere” approach to the fight game has made him somewhat of an anomaly in the current realm of mixed martial arts, where the large majority of competitors attempt to strategically make their way up a variety of ladders. Yet, that’s just not “Cowboy’s” way, and his willingness to trade leather with any fighter who signs on the dotted line to face him has been a key aspect to his rise to become a fan-favorite.
His love for the scrap and the 31-year-old Albuquerque transplant’s ruckus-heavy fighting style have made him a must-see attraction come fight night. When you factor in the unique stat that Cerrone has never pulled out of a scheduled bout, and has made all 15 appearances he’s been contracted to make in his three years under the UFC banner, the picture starts to take shape that the Jackson/Winkeljohn-trained fighter is truly a rare breed in the chaotic environment of MMA.
Yet, while Cerrone‘s work inside the cage has been well documented, so has his love for adrenaline-based endeavors on his downtime. Where other fighters are grinding out several sessions a day inside the gym, the Colorado native has made a habit out of deviating from that particular approach, and the results have shown when it’s time to compete under the bright lights.
His methods may not be suitable for all, but for Cerrone himself, mixing pleasure with the rigorous work that is done inside the gym has allowed him to strike a balance in his life. Cerrone is just as full throttle as he’s ever been, but finding that rhythm has helped him turn a corner in his career and morph into a different type of monster.
Cerrone has notched five consecutive victories with all but one of those wins coming by way of finish. The only man to make it to the cards against him was Eddie Alvarez at UFC 178 back in September, but even then, the former Bellator lightweight champion took a battering for his troubles. The scrappy striker will look to make Myles Jury his sixth straight victim at UFC 182 this Saturday night in Las Vegas, and with his co-main event approaching on the horizon, the perennial title contender has never felt better.
“I put it all together this year,” Cerrone told Bleacher Report. “My coaches and everyone I train with are down there together and they don’t hold me back from being me. If I want to go out duck hunting until two in the morning, they are like whatever. If I want to go snowmobiling or jet skiing, I do it. They are like, ‘Do it…but we are gonna get work in.’
“We have a lot of young fighters who come out to the house and I try to teach that to them. You start grinding your body in training to the point where you need to take time off and I’ve learned how to balance those things. Your body needs to recover and on those days I go hunting and then come back fresh and ready to go hard. In the back of your mind you have those thoughts that you have to be in shape and there are all of these high expectations, but on the other end your body can’t keep up. Training four times a day definitely takes a toll and mixing in some pleasure in the middle helps to take the edge off all that.”
While Jury has been shaking up the ranks of the lightweight division since coming off The Ultimate Fighter, and is looking to battle his way into title contention, Cerrone sees their upcoming collision as just another day in the office. Following his victory over Alvarez, the versatile knockout artist refused to leave Las Vegas before UFC President Dana White had another fight lined up for him. Cerrone prefers to keep things moving and he made his way back to his ranch with another matchup locked and loaded.
Nevertheless, there would be some twists and turns in the road, and the fight would get pushed back a bit, but Cerrone and the undefeated prospect are going to step into the Octagon to handle their business this Saturday night. While Cerrone is notorious for not watching tape on his opponents and admittedly isn’t well-versed on his opponent, he knows Jury is a talented fighter and is expecting fireworks at UFC 182.
Cerrone can say those things because he knows what he brings to the table, and he’s looking to make another impressive addition to his resume on Saturday night.
“I don’t know much about him other than he’s undefeated,” Cerrone said. “He’s a good kid and he’s like the new breed or new generation of fighter where they are pretty good at everything. We’ll see. I feel like I’m still young in this sport too so we’ll see.
“I don’t care who I fight and people seem to have a hard time believing that. When I fought Eddie Alvarez he was saying that I’ve seen tape on him and whatever and I told him, ‘No…I’ve never seen you fight.’ It’s the same thing with Myles. The only fight I’ve ever seen of his is when he fought Diego [Sanchez]. I’ve seen zero tape on him and the only time I ever watch UFC is when I’m watching teammates or people I know fight. I just live my life and get it done.”
Should Cerrone emerge victorious at UFC 182, his red-hot winning streak will make a strong case for a shot at the UFC lightweight title—one that has seemingly eluded him for a long time. That said, chasing championships isn’t what motivates Cerrone because those particular situations always seem to come with a lot of “wait and see,” and he isn’t much the type for waiting for anything to come around to him.
Cerrone is in the UFC to fight, and if that doesn’t line up with how a title shot rolls out, then he’ll just catch it on the next pass. Again, just another detail that makes Cerrone‘s path through the highest level of MMA unlike any other fighter in the sport, but there’s only one Donald Cerrone.
“I don’t really look who is above me for a title shot or anything like that,” he said in conclusion. “If Khabib [Nurmagomedov] is ready then let’s fight. I can tell you that I definitely wouldn’t be one of those guys who are at No. 1 and is just gonna sit there and wait for his title shot to come around. No way. If Dana White told me I’m next for a shot but had to wait, I wouldn’t do it. I have money to make and a legacy to uphold.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
Being liked is no longer a priority for UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones.
As children, we were all conditioned through bedtime stories and various forms of media to be heroes, to be the good guy. It is within human nature to yearn to be loved and …
Being liked is no longer a priority for UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones.
As children, we were all conditioned through bedtime stories and various forms of media to be heroes, to be the good guy. It is within human nature to yearn to be loved and adored. Nobody grows up wanting to be hated and treated like the bad guy, unless they were forced into that role.
The explosive feud between Jones and Daniel Cormier has put pen to paper in a way that has never been seen throughout the many storied rivalries in UFC history. There is a genuine disdain and dislike festering between two of MMA’s best athletes at the apex of their careers. But while Cormier is generally seen as the knight in shining armor, Jones is once again taking the villainous role of the dragon.
According to Jones, the UFC’s promotional effort deserves some of the blame for his inevitable heel turn. The vicious, off-air verbal exchange between Jones and Cormier released by ESPN SportsCenter a few months ago has received more commercial play than Geico’s “Hump Day” camel.
Initially, Jones was offended when the UFC opted to use the hot mic exchange to promote the upcoming UFC 182 title fight, but past experiences has taught the 27-year-old champ to expect the unexpected.
“Originally, I was offended, it was my first emotion,” Jones said during the UFC 182 media phone conference. “The reason I never tweeted or made a statement about it was because it’s just the UFC. I mean UFC 151 got canceled and instantly my image got ruined overnight. That taught me a lot about the UFC. So them using that to promote fights, it doesn’t surprise me. I’m just gonna go with it. It’s what I said, they’re my quotes and I’ll live with it.”
It’s a tough time to be hated.
In this generation, social media sites like Twitter and Instagram have become a breeding ground of negativity for athletes from every sport. Fans can literally hurl random insults at athletes from afar with a few keystrokes.
While Jones receives his fair share of praises and positive messages, there will always be fans who idle on his social media pages with the sole purpose of criticizing and insulting him. This reaction may have propelled a different response from Jones earlier in his career, but as with punches in a fight, he has steadily learned to roll with the insults and move on with his life.
“When I read my comments on Twitter and Instagram, I realize that I really do inspire people and touch people and people really do appreciate who I am as a martial artist,” Jones said. “Then when I look at some of the people who write me negative messages, it’s always so dumb. It’s like, ‘Dude you’re fake.’
“I’ve been hearing that I’m fake for so many years it’s like, ‘Okay.’ Who cares if I’m fake? I win fights and that’s what I’m here to do. I’m not here to win you over in my personality. I’m here to fight, that’s ultimately my job. I look at the people who hate on me, and it’s never anything solid. It’s like, ‘Dude you poke people in the eyes in your fights.’ Okay that’s an accident, or it’s, ‘Hey you’re fake, you’re bigger than the other light heavyweights.’
It’s always real stupid stuff. So I’ve learned to kind of laugh at it. I’m just waiting for the person who really hates me and gives me a legit answer or reason. No one has ever really given me anything solid, outside of calling me fake. I mean what are we in high school? I’m a grown man. I’m like, ‘Okay you’re calling me fake? You can’t call my work ethic fake and the things I’ve achieved fake.’”
Having broken nearly every record at 205 pounds, Jones is already regarded as the greatest light heavyweight in UFC history.
A win over Cormier on Saturday night would put him two title defenses away from tying former middleweight champ Anderson Silva’s unearthly record of 10 consecutive UFC title defenses.
There’s certainly no faking those stats and accomplishments, whether you love or hate Jon Jones.
All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. JordyMcElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon.
These are the times we should all hold dear.
Six months from now, if things go south again and 2015 turns into a repeat of this year’s drudgery, MMA fans will look back in awe at Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier.
The extended lead-up to Saturday night’s UF…
The extended lead-up to Saturday night’s UFC 182 main event has been pure pleasure, with Jones and Cormier establishing themselves as one of the greatest pairings in our sport’s short history.
At this point, their actual fight will merely be the icing on the cake.
Until it’s over, we won’t know for sure if we can consider their rivalry the best ever though it’s certainly already in the running.
MMA has perhaps never seen a matchup that can compete with Jones-Cormier in all categories—including sheer stakes, prestige, competitiveness and actual, honest-to-goodness dislike. If the bout itself can even halfway live up to the hype, we’re talking about a clash for the ages.
In many ways, Jones vs. Cormier is a throwback to the light heavyweight division’s glory days. Their names don’t feel at all out of place in the same sentence with all-time UFC greats Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz or iconic Pride standouts like Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson or Shogun Rua.
This feud has come close to matching the genuine bitterness of Ortiz’s trilogy with Ken Shamrock, which spanned 2002-06.
The two men now feel as intertwined in each other’s career paths as Georges St-Pierre and B.J. Penn did during their pair of fights in 2006 and 2009.
The on-stage brawl Jones and Cormier started at a media event in August bested anything ChaelSonnen and Anderson Silva did for actual fireworks back in 2010.
When they meet in the cage on Saturday, it’ll feel as significant as FedorEmelianenko finally getting together with Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic in 2005. It’ll seem as big a moment for the fight company as Eddie Alvarez vs. Michael Chandler was for Bellator in 2011. At least on paper, it could be as evenly matched as this year’s epic welterweight title bouts between Robbie Lawler and Johny Hendricks.
In fact, depending on exactly how things shake out this weekend, Jones-Cormier has a chance to surpass them all.
Jones has already established himself as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and the greatest 205-pounder of all time. Back in 2011, he saved the vaunted light heavyweight division from the listlessness created by Liddell‘s decline and—with one notable exception against Alexander Gustafsson in Sept. 2013—has seemed all but untouchable.
He’s the odds-on favorite to go down as the best ever at any weight by the time his career is over. Yet all that doesn’t even tell the whole story.
Jones is a unique figure in the history of MMA. His signature complement of size, athleticism, creativity and occasional mean-spiritedness is unmatched even by the Emelianenkos, Anderson Silvas and St-Pierres of the world.
He’s so talented, he’s known to beat his opponents at their own game, attacking them where they are strongest in order to prove himself better there. When he takes on the former captain of the U.S. Olympic wrestling team, he says it’ll be no different, as he told MMA Fighting’s Shaun Al-Shatti last week:
I will try to wrestle Daniel Cormier. I definitely plan on making him work extremely hard for any takedowns he’s going for, and I’m definitely going to be looking for takedowns myself. I’m more than capable of taking him down, and I believe in my top game. So I’ll definitely look to attack Daniel at his strengths, and weaknesses.
Jones was such an athletic revelation when he first broke into the big time back in 2008 that some fans flatly didn’t buy his humble, “nice guy” act. They charged him with being fake. When Jones opened up and showed the world a bit more of his true self, they called him arrogant.
He’s the sort of guy who could easily play either the hero or the villain in the greatest MMA story ever told. Depending on how you feel about him, he’s ever more detestable or likable simply because nobody’s really been able to beat him.
Now comes an undefeated challenger to test everything we think we know about Jones and every conclusion we’ve already jumped to about his legacy.
Cormier was 13-0 at heavyweight from 2009-13, and were he not close friends with reigning UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, he likely would’ve stayed there. Instead, Cormier dropped to light heavyweight early in 2014 and through two fights at 205 pounds has proved the weight cut doesn’t deprive him of any of the fearsome skills that made him a force in his previous division.
He figures to be the stiffest test of Jones’ career and was so confident about his chances, he let it be known he planned to fight the champion with an injured knee when their bout was first scheduled in July. When Jones himself dropped out with a knee injury a month later, Cormier couldn’t help but note the differences in their approaches.
“It can be a blessing,” he told Mike Hill of Fox Sports 1’s America’s Pregame (h/t UFC.com’s Thomas Gerbasi) at the time, “but I would be outside of myself to not say that I went into this fight knowing that my knee was pretty jacked up and I was gonna fight through it to get a title. I don’t think (Jones) is ducking me. … Sometimes, you gotta just tough it out and go in there and fight.”
When they finally do that this weekend, Cormier will have to overcome Jones’ significant size and reach advantages, but his previous experience at heavyweight makes that nothing new. It’s hard to think back on him beating up Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Roy Nelson or body-slamming Josh Barnett without figuring he’ll be a handful for Jones, too.
Nobody knows for sure how it’s going to play out—if they say they do, don’t trust them—and that just adds an extra layer to an already stellar fight.
This event likely won’t crush any pay-per-view buyrate records. It stands to be a nice little seller for the UFC, but it won’t match the huge numbers put up by guys like Brock Lesnar and St-Pierre during the prime of their careers. That says more about the slumping state of the sport at large than the greatness of this matchup, however.
If you spent much of 2014 waiting for something to cheer for, or if you were part of the throng who drifted away from this sport during the last few years, now is the time to go all in once again.
Jon Jones was not impressed by your performance against Dan Henderson, Mr. Daniel Cormier.
At UFC 173 in May of 2014, Cormier solidified himself as the No. 1 contender to Jones’ strap by decimating Hendo via third-round submission. After repeated…
Jon Jones was not impressed by your performance against Dan Henderson, Mr. Daniel Cormier.
At UFC 173 in May of 2014, Cormier solidified himself as the No. 1 contender to Jones’ strap by decimating Hendo via third-round submission. After repeatedly tossing Henderson to the mat like a child (no, seriously) throughout the fight, Cormier cranked the intensity and strangled his foe into unconsciousness with a rear-naked choke.
The win was dominant. It was hard to watch, even. It was a one-sided beatdown the likes of which we rarely see between two legitimate professional fighters.
And it was thoroughly unimpressive, if you ask the division’s king.
On a recent episode of UFC Presents, Bad Blood: Jones vs. Cormier, Jones talked about Cormier‘s showdown with Henderson, saying that if DC expects to waltz to the title with similar ease at UFC 182 on Jan. 3, he’s in for a rude awakening (transcription via MMAfighting.com’s David St. Martin).
“Your last fight was against Dan Henderson,” Jones told Cormier on the show. “You beat a guy that’s 50 years old and now you step in against a 27-year-old who’s going to come in there at 227 pounds healthy, young and athletic. If he thinks he’s getting in there against a Dan Henderson, or if that’s giving him any type of sense of security where he thinks he’s just going to rule the light heavyweight division, he’s sadly mistaken.”
Jones, however, did not stop there. He continued to lay it on Cormier and the former Pride champion Henderson, upping the trash-talk to the tune of one decade.
“He (Cormier) beat Dan Henderson, who’s like a 60-year old, and started talking trash to me on the mic right away,” Jones aid. “I’m going to give him what he’s wanted and that’s an opportunity to get his butt whooped by me.”
While Cormier was the last Strikeforce heavyweight champion before the organization folded, he has yet to fight for the title inside the UFC Octagon. He was a top contender at heavyweight, winning his first two UFC appearances against Frank Mir and Roy Nelson via decision, but he dropped to light heavyweight to continue his quest for gold.
There, Cormier rattled off two more wins, this time finishing his opponents with relative ease. Patrick Cummins was first up at UFC 171. Cormier obliterated him via first-round TKO. Henderson was next.
Jones, meanwhile, took over the light heavyweight class at UFC 128 in March of 2011 and hasn’t looked back.
Seven title defenses, four over former UFC champions, made him the most dominant 205-pounder of all time—and he’s still only 27 years old.
With these resumes and so much back-and-forth verbal (and physical) abuse from both Cormier and Jones, UFC 182 is one of the most anticipated fight cards since UFC 168, where UFC middleweight legend Anderson Silva rematched 185-pound champ Chris Weidman in an attempt to recapture his belt.
Who do you think will walk away with the light heavyweight strap? Will Jones reign supreme once more, or is Cormier the man to finally end his stay atop the division?
Sound off below, and we’ll discuss this titanic 205-pound matchup.
Narrated by CNN personality/BJJ aficionadoAnthony Bourdain, the half-hour “Bad Blood: Jones vs. Cormier” special aired recently on FOX Sports 1, and begins with a quick retrospective of some of the UFC’s other great rivalries. The Shamrock/Tito “living death” moment shows up within the first 10 seconds, which I appreciated. But also, we’ve got BJ Penn explaining to Georges St-Pierre that he wants to kill him — “and I’m not joking about this” — and clips of Brock Lesnar and Rampage Jackson acting rather unprofessional. The implication is, Jon Jones may have threatened Daniel Cormier with actual death, but look, sometimes these things happen in MMA.
Anyway, it’s worth a look if you have any patience left for Jones/Cormier pre-fight hype. There aren’t too many surprises here, but we do get an interesting look at Cormier’s training relationship with Khadzhimurat Gatsalov, the phenom Russian wrestler who defeated Cormier at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Plus: Some never-before-heard insults (“How much you weigh right now, fat fuck?”).
It also makes me wonder: If Jones and Cormier never brawled on stage, and never cursed each other out during that SportsCenter interview, how would the UFC promote this fight? Would it be enough that the two greatest light-heavyweights in the world were facing each other on January 3rd? How badly do we need bad blood?
Narrated by CNN personality/BJJ aficionadoAnthony Bourdain, the half-hour “Bad Blood: Jones vs. Cormier” special aired recently on FOX Sports 1, and begins with a quick retrospective of some of the UFC’s other great rivalries. The Shamrock/Tito “living death” moment shows up within the first 10 seconds, which I appreciated. But also, we’ve got BJ Penn explaining to Georges St-Pierre that he wants to kill him — “and I’m not joking about this” — and clips of Brock Lesnar and Rampage Jackson acting rather unprofessional. The implication is, Jon Jones may have threatened Daniel Cormier with actual death, but look, sometimes these things happen in MMA.
Anyway, it’s worth a look if you have any patience left for Jones/Cormier pre-fight hype. There aren’t too many surprises here, but we do get an interesting look at Cormier’s training relationship with Khadzhimurat Gatsalov, the phenom Russian wrestler who defeated Cormier at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Plus: Some never-before-heard insults (“How much you weigh right now, fat fuck?”).
It also makes me wonder: If Jones and Cormier never brawled on stage, and never cursed each other out during that SportsCenter interview, how would the UFC promote this fight? Would it be enough that the two greatest light-heavyweights in the world were facing each other on January 3rd? How badly do we need bad blood?
Donald 
