Cormier: Skill for skill, I’m better than Jon Jones

UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier appeared recently on Bruce Buffer’s It’s Time podcast, and discussed his next fight – it’s with Jon Jones.

“The truth is, I lost that fight to Jones, but I didn’t fight my best fight,” said Cormier, as transcribed by David St. Martin for MMAFighting.com. “I didn’t fight very well and I still had a lot of moments in that fight. For me going into the next fight, not only do I feel like I’m going to win, I feel I’m supposed to win. I am a better mixed martial artist than Jon Jones. Skill for skill I’m better than that guy.”

“There was a lot of talk and on Jan. 3, 2015 Jon fought the better fight. He was the better fighter on that night. He did a phenomenal job of making me fight the way he wanted. As the fight progressed and both of us started to tire a little bit he started to initiate clinches and slowed me down and made me fight the slow fight that he’s very good at. He’s not going to get to do that again this time. I’m already covering those bases. There are a lot of things I did in that first fight that lent to me losing. Not really respecting Jon and his ability to dictate a fight.

“I thought that by putting the type of pressure that I put on people that eventually he would fold. Kenny Florian told me something right before the fight and it rang so true. ‘DC, go out and win this fight because you’re better. He’s not going to give up on himself in 25 minutes.’ I trained for three months to break him, but 25 minutes isn’t enough time for Jon to give up on himself. I have to go beat him because I’m better than him.”

“He’s so good. He’s such a good fighter that I don’t think the layoff will affect him like it does others. I think he’ll be OK. I think his issues are going to be with the improvements that I’ve made. Not anything on his end. He’ll be just as good as he always is, if not better. But it’s the improvement I’ve made that will make the difference. On the night of the fight my coach ‘Crazy’ Bob Cook told me, ‘I usually get a better guy than I do in the gym. This time, I didn’t.’

“Bob pulled no punches. He didn’t comfort me. He told me I didn’t do the things I was supposed to do. ‘You didn’t fight as well as you can. I don’t understand how on the biggest stage of your life you really didn’t get the job done.’ It was perfect for me because it lit a fire under my ass to let me know that I’m never going to do what I did in that fight again.”

“In terms of what Jon is doing now it’s all very good. I like that he’s with his family. I like that he seems to have gotten sober. But at the end of the day, all this stuff is just normal. It’s what you’re supposed to do. I don’t really want to get credit for being close to my family and being a hard-working person who doesn’t do drugs. Acknowledge me for doing the stuff I’m not supposed to do.

“Doing community service is community service, but how bout going and talking to these kids on your own? Not when you’re forced to do it. The positive changes he’s made are very good for him, but in reality it’s just normal. If you’re a man with a fiancé, you’re not supposed to run around on her.”