Cormier aims to cleanse Jones ‘stench’ by smashing Oezdemir

Daniel Cormier is one of the best fighters in the history of mixed martial arts, but was ever just shy of #1 in the world. He won nationals in wrestling, but it was Juco nationals. As a Div I wrestler Cormier missed All American one year and made All American the next, but lost to arguably the greatest wrestler in US history in Cael Sanderson. As a freestyle wrestler, he won gold in the PanAms, but bronze in the world championship. Then he entered MMA.

Cormier beat everyone except arguably the greatest fighter in MMA history, Jon Jones. ‘Bones’ beat DC twice, with the second loss overturned to an NC because Jon Jones makes poor decisions. So Daniel Cormier is the champion of the world, but Jones hangs over it. However, Cormier has a solution, as he explained at a press conference Friday for his fight vs. Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 220 on Jan. 20.

“I know what happened, and I lost the fight. That’s my reality, said Cormier, as transcribed by John Morgan and Steven Marrocco for MMAJunkie. But what do I do when I lose a fight? What do I do when I’ve had anything bad happen to me? I get up, I dust myself off, and I go back to work. That’s all I can do. …

I feel like after the fight, there’s a stench, a stink on me from just a bad fight, a bad build-up, a bad result, a bad everything. I have to right that by not only beating Volkan Oezdemir, but really dominating him and smashing him. I’m going to smash him on January 20th. That’s the only way I can feel better being the competitor that I am.

Oezdemir predicts a title change via quick knockout.

I think it’s crazy, said Cormier. But I think it’s like the only way that he can win. What else? What if it doesn’t happen? So many guys go into the fight with the idea that they’re just going to get me out of there. I’m smaller than everybody. I’m not the body-building guy. I don’t look like those guys. So they think they’re going to get ol’ DC out of there.

But what happens after 5 minutes when I’m still pressing you, and I’m throwing you down, and I’m pushing your head down, and making you gasp for air, and then I take you down and cover your face so that you can’t breathe? What happens then? You know what happens then is, they turn over, they present their neck, and they tap out. That’s what’s about to happen to Volkan Oezdemir.