Issue 114

May 2014

The battle to get down to 205 pounds has been long and arduous for Daniel Cormier. But after a successful debut at light heavyweight the AKA product has just one thing on his mind – a UFC title shot. And he doesn’t care who he has to go through to get it.

If you were to look at all the weight categories in the UFC, it would be difficult to argue the light heavyweight division isn’t the most prestigious of them all. Sure, there have been great champions and challengers in other weight classes, but none of the other categories has really produced the level of talent seen in the ranks of the 205lb’ers. 

Think about it: Tito Ortiz, Frank Shamrock, Chuck Liddell, and Randy Couture. Those are just a few of the champions who helped make the division what it is today. And now Jon Jones has arguably surpassed them all. But having the belt wrapped around your waist means there’s also a target placed on your back. And among all the hot shots who have incumbent king "Bones" in their sights there is, perhaps, one name that stands out in particular. Step forward former heavyweight Daniel Cormier.

But today’s version isn’t the same Cormier who took Strikeforce by storm, blitzing the likes of Antonio Silva within one round and treating long-time heavyweight legend Josh Barnett like a rag doll for 25 dominant minutes. As impressive as those performances were, the new, improved and lighter Daniel Cormier is ready to show the world that although he may be ‘half’ the man he was – he’s twice the fighter.

And who could doubt him following his first-round demolition of fellow light heavyweight Patrick Cummins at UFC 170?

“To get down to 205lb, it’s really been about having a super work ethic,” ‘DC’ explains in an exclusive interview with FO. “For this last camp, I woke up every morning and went to practice. I hopped out of bed like I was 23 years old again. My training changed, so instead of being lethargic and waking up at noon and going to the gym, I was there at 6:30am.

“I was up and ready to hit the pads, do my boxing and then go home and get some rest so I could go back to the gym at 12. I think it had to do with my diet and the weight loss. When I went into the cage it was amazing, from the moment I walked out of the tunnel to people recognizing me, the music, the admiration, the crowd understanding the sacrifice to get down to the weight, them showing appreciation for it. The whole situation was incredible.”

He adds: “Now that I’ve dropped down I can wrestle faster, my awareness is quicker and the speed in my hands is fantastic. At heavyweight, I was pretty quick with my hands, but now I feel like my feet are faster. Even my vision is better, it feels like I can see better and I can move my head better. I feel like I’m more in tune with my body since I’m down at a weight that’s more conducive to where I’m supposed to be. Now that I’m at 205lb, does it mean I’m going to win every time? I’m not sure, but I know that I’m in the best position for me personally.”

Before he was able to drop the pounds, Cormier had to do some soul-searching first. His near-death experience due to a poorly planned weight cut, which led to his kidneys failing during the 2008 Olympics, is widely known and part of the reason it’s taken him so long to cut the weight. However, the catalyst came when he finally admitted to himself he’d be able to improve his already-stellar performances by dropping down a weight division.

“As a wrestler,” he explains, “when I did things the right way, when I weighed 227–228lb getting down to 211lb, I was third in the world. When I was 225lb, I was fifth in the world, fourth in the world. It was when I started getting up to 240lb that I was not getting my best results. 

“So when I was fighting at heavyweight at the beginning I was carrying a lot more fat and it wasn’t allowing me to be the athletic, quick-footed guy I’d been for the majority of my athletic career.”

With his weight issues behind him, ‘DC’ was ready to make his 205lb debut, yet standing in his way of a title shot was UFC pre-show co-host and former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans. Although he was uncomfortable facing someone he considered a friend, he was fully aware an impressive performance against Evans would skyrocket him up the UFC rankings and place him firmly in the mind of his bosses for the next shot at the winner of Jones vs. Teixiera at UFC 172.

However, the fight wasn’t to be, as a torn ACL forced Evans out. A distraught Cormier begged and pleaded to stay on the card, especially after all the hard work he’d put in to get down to the weight class. 

Eventually he’d face, and defeat, former wrestling foe, and UFC debutant Cummins. As impressive as Cormier’s performance was, Cummins was nowhere near the level of Evans, meaning a win didn’t push Cormier any further up the rankings. A fact Cormier is more than well aware of.

“I accept that as what it is,” he says with a sigh. “I can’t control the rankings. If I had fought Rashad Evans, I would have probably gone higher but it doesn’t dictate where I’m going to go next. It’s not my fault Rashad got hurt. I wish he’d been able to compete, but it’s fine. Regardless of the rankings, I’ll continue to fight, continue to improve, and continue to win.”

With a third UFC victory under his belt, Cormier isn’t rushing to get back into the cage. After all, he hasn’t got a guaranteed title shot and he’s not the only contender looking to take on Jones. So instead of doing what so many have done in the past and jumping into another fight, Cormier has decided to bide his time and let the light heavyweight division sort itself out.

“I’ll wait for the division to play out,” he explains. “As I said before I don’t want anything less than a fight that gets me to the championship. If it’s not for the championship I want to fight one of the contenders.

“What about this: history has shown that if you beat Ryan Bader you’ll get a title shot. I don’t get it.

“He’s a really good fighter, so maybe that’s what gives guys the title shot. Preferably it wouldn’t be him, it would be the winner of Anthony Johnson and Phil Davis, or "Minotoro" Nogueira. He beat Rashad Evans. It was a year ago, but his last win was against Rashad. It could be one of those guys. I don’t want any questions after my next fight whether I should be fighting for the title.”

One may argue that the division has a number of contenders for the title, with fans also eager to see a rematch between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson at some point. Meanwhile, Phil Davis has only lost once in his 205lb career and is a shoo-in for a shot, while any fight with Glover Teixeira has the potential for unfathomable violence and carnage. 

Many people have a claim to stake at 205lb and Cormier has thought long and hard about all the opinions and understands them all. Yet that hasn’t stopped the ex-stalwart of Strikeforce’s heavyweight division from coming up with an intelligent rebuttal that would stump even the most stubborn of MMA fans.

“What’s the connection between Ronda Rousey, Jake Shields, Nick Diaz, Gilbert Melendez?” he asks. “They’re all Strikeforce belt holders. So everyone who’s held the Strikeforce title apart from me and Luke Rockhold has fought for a UFC belt. None of them has had to go 4-0 before they fought for a UFC title shot.”

It’s a fair point. Rousey and Melendez debuted in the UFC with championship bouts, Diaz had to defeat BJ Penn to get a shot at the interim welterweight belt and his Cesar Gracie brethen, Jake Shields, only had to get past Martin Kampmann before he was awarded his shot at Georges St Pierre.

Regardless of his feelings, Cormier is willing to put his head down, embrace the grind and put in the work to make sure he’s able to show why he deserves it, and, unlike many other fighters, he’s willing to speak up and tell everyone why he believes the next shot at the title should be his. 

Recently, Cormier was on an episode of UFC Tonight and made a plea to current champion Jon Jones for the next shot at the title, but Jones declined the offer. The two have already had a number of verbal spats over recent months, with Cormier stating on numerous occasions that he wants to face Jones. 

It may seem like there’s a large amount of animosity between the two, however, Cormier insists that it’s nothing but competition that makes him yearn for a shot at Jones.

“No envy. No jealousy. He’s a great light heavyweight champ,” he says. “I have admiration for him, for what he has achieved. You cannot compete properly, you cannot have the mind of a champion if you have envy and jealousy in you. Do I want what he has got? Of course, I want everything. I want the belt, I want to be considered the best and I want the respect of the entire MMA community as the rightful champion. Those are the goals.

“I learned a lot about Jon Jones in his last two fights. People forget how good Alex Gustafsson was in that fight. Jones showed how much he wanted to stay champion. Just as he did when he was prepared to have his arm broken against Vitor Belfort. Being champion has defined Jon Jones. It has made him who he is. He really, really doesn’t want to give up that title. That’s the man I want to fight and defeat. The one who really wants to be the best.”

He adds: “Then I want to take it from him. I want him to be my Everest. I just don’t want a quick climb. I want a long, grueling and arduous trek against him, right the way to the summit. Whatever it takes – beatings from Cain (Velasquez) in the gym to get there, whatever it is, but that’s what I want. The title from the guy who people are saying is the best.”

When he talks about fighting Jones, you get the sense he’s envisioned the match-up in his mind hundreds, maybe thousands of times already. He wants to be known as the man who not only defeated the best, but crushed him. As much as a fight with Jones is tantalizing for the competitor and winner in Cormier, he’s more than at ease with the fact he might not be the one to dethrone the current champ. 

“Look, if it is to be Jones who I fight for the belt, great,” he says. “It’s better, because he has been the dominant champion for so long. If it’s someone else, like Alex Gustafsson, or Glover Teixeira, then so be it. But I’d be more than happy if it were Jones. I’d like to

beat him once, then re-match him, and beat him again, and then maybe send him up to the heavyweight division. He could go up to heavyweight. He’s young, and Jones’ body will change in time. But he may not want to, or even have to. Think about this: I’m smaller now than when I was wrestling at the Olympic Games. You don’t necessarily have to get bigger. However, the ideal scenario would be two fights with Jones.”

As he relaxes in his hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana, before he jumps back on a plane to San Jose to begin his next training camp, Cormier knows that the future is as bright as the sun he sits under. 

After years of competing, the title he’s longed for since he wrapped his hands and put on a pair of 4oz gloves for the very first time is finally within his grasp, and he’s willing to defeat anybody in his way, and retain the title for as long as possible.

Jon Jones on Cormier

“I’m kind of sick of seeing UFC light heavyweights fight against, kind of like, ‘cans’ until they get a title shot. I really want to see a top contender fight a top contender and I think (Cormier needs) to fight someone a little bit more well-known than Patrick Cummins. Fight against Rashad (Evans), fight against somebody legit, man. Then I think it would be a little more appropriate to give (Cormier) that title shot.”

Alexander Gustafsson on Cormier

“I think (Cormier) has to do at least a fight against a high-ranked guy to even think about a title shot. I think I’m the next in line … I’m the next in line for a title shot. That’s what I think, and believe.”

The bigger they are

Only eight bouts into his career, Cormier was asked to fight a man who’d just beaten Fedor Emelianenko, one of the greatest heavyweights ever, so badly he was deemed unable to continue by a doctor. A mystery Alistair Overeem injury had forced him out against Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva in the semi-final of the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament. With ‘DC’ taking his place the green Louisiana wrestler made a massive impression, dropping Silva once before felling the giant moments later with an uppercut and two standing hammerfists. 

Wrestlemania

If people didn’t believe in Cormier’s top-tier talent following his starching of ‘Bigfoot’ Silva, they did after they saw him at times toy with revered catch wrestler Josh Barnett in their five-round contest. Having earned a 2012 bout with ‘The Warmaster’ in the final of the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix, Cormier proceeded to put on a clinic against the ex-UFC heavyweight champ. The highlight coming in the third when the four-inch-shorter Cormier dumped Barnett on the canvas like a bad habit, which may have made a bigger statement than his unanimous points win.

Five minutes alone

Bad blood boiled over and into a sharp 79-second beating when Cormier faced ex-training partner Patrick Cummins in February. Cummins stepped in as a late replacement for Rashad Evans at UFC 170 and set about selling his chances, and the fight, based off a practice room incident where Cormier cried after facing Cummins in a simulation of an Olympic tournament. Cormier didn’t take long to pummel his first 205lb foe into a TKO finish, and stake his claim to title contendership.