Daniel Cormier: I’ll fight Jon Jones
In an exclusive interview with BJPenn.com, Daniel Cormier says he is game to fight Jon Jones at 205. Right now…
In an exclusive interview with BJPenn.com, Daniel Cormier says he is game to fight Jon Jones at 205.
Right now no one wants to fight Jon Jones, but s— I’ll do it, I’ll fight Jon Jones, said Cormier, who is currently preparing to fight the UFC’s Frank Mir, who is crossing over to face Cormier in Strikeforce. Guys are turning down the fight; you have to go to an old school fighter like Vitor Belfort to step up to the plate. That’s no knock on Machida or Shogun, but if those guys want to coach on The Ultimate Fighter and move off to the side and let me fight Jones, I’ll do it. If no one wants the title shot then give it to Daniel!
Cormier was shocked when he heard that UFC 151 was canceled and he gave a hypothetical answer about what he would do had he had been in a similar situation.
Dan predominately stands-up while Chael wrestles a little bit more, offered Cormier. But my idea is this and this is the God’s honest truth, Jones can fight anyone on eight days notice, he’s that good. With that being said I think he should’ve taken the fight. If you listened to what Rashad Evans said it was kind of Jones’ obligation to the UFC to stop the cancellation of the card. They’ve gotten behind him, I mean obviously his skills are what have gotten him a long way, but they have pushed him out to the front. They have made him a lot of money and put him in big fights. I’m almost 100% sure without knowing they played a hand in him landing the deal with Nike. There are a lot of reasons why he should have taken the fight, but the main one is he could have beaten 98% of the guys in the world on eight days notice.
However, when discussing Daniel Cormier and 205, what happened to him in Beijing in 2008 cannot be forgotten.
Cormier stepped off the scale the day before the first match at the Beijing Olympics, and things went wrong.
“When I went to rehydrate myself, my body started doing weird things,” recalls Cormier. “I was throwing up everywhere. I started cramping really bad. Then, I couldn’t walk.”
Cormier was diagnised with potentially fatal Acute Renal Failure, and was pulled from the games. He did not get cleared to train for an entire year; his amateur wrestling career ended.
At 5′ 11 and around 235, Cormier is a little undersized for the heavyweight division. In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, he discussed a potential cut to lightheavyweight.
“Listen, I’m a clear thinker and I know that I carry some extra fat and I could probably get to 205 if I needed to,” said Cormier. “But it would have to be a total lifestyle change. I just can’t do it the wrong way anymore.”
At the very least, if Cormier does get the opportunity to fight Jones, he’ll need more than eight days.