Tag: Daniel Cormier

Daniel Cormier down to fight Francis Ngannou if Stipe Miocic is stripped of title

Daniel Cormier is not afraid of Francis Ngannou, and he’s ready to fight him for the UFC heavyweight title.

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] is not afraid of [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag], and he’s ready to fight him if need be.

The heavyweight division is currently muddled with uncertainty. The original plan called for Cormier (22-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) to challenge [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] for the heavyweight belt in a trilogy bout. But in recent days UFC president Dana White has expressed frustration in his champion.

Miocic (19-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC), who also works as a firefighter and paramedic in Ohio, has said he’s not ready to compete by August due to his first responder obligations and the fact his gym is closed due to a stay-at-home order in his state. White has said if Miocic can’t meet his timeline, the division “has to move on.”

Enter Ngannou (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC), who strengthened his case for a title shot Saturday at UFC 249 when he scored a brutal 20-second knockout of Jairzinho Rozenstruik. “The Predator” has won four consecutive bouts in a total fight time of less than three minutes, and if the UFC decides to make the belt vacant, Cormier said he would be willing to take the fight.

“If Stipe won’t fight, then Francis Ngannou has earned a title fight,” Cormier said on the UFC 249 post-fight show on ESPN. “If somebody is fighting Francis Ngannou for the title, it’s going to be me. All respect in the world to Francis Ngannou, but I’m not afraid of anyone. I’ll fight anybody on any planet. I love Francis, I think he’s a sweetheart person. I would love to do my trilogy with Stipe Miocic, but if Stipe won’t fight, they’re going to take his belt just like Henry (Cejudo) gave up his and they’re going to make a fight between Francis and I for the belt. It’s as simple as that.

“I would rather fight the trilogy fight with Stipe Miocic, I think that for everything we have meant to each other with me winning one and him winning one. That would be great for me. But if he doesn’t want to fight I want to fight my last fight. I want to fight whoever. And if it’s Francis Ngannou then I guess that’s who it’s going to be.”

White appears to be on board with the possibility of Cormier vs. Ngannou. He said the situation is still in flux, but promised that a decision would be made sooner than later.

“We got to figure out this Stipe vs. Cormier thing, or figure out if we end up doing a fight with Francis,” White said. “We’ll get that figure out soon.”

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Cormier reiterated that his preference is to fight Miocic and resolve their rivalry after exchanging the heavyweight belt with a pair of knockout results. His goal is to retire a UFC champion, though, and if a matchup with Ngannou is the only option, he’ll take it.

Cormier offered fair warning, though. He doesn’t have any intention of standing in front of Ngannou if they fight.

“It’s like a double-edged sword. If I go to fight Francis Ngannou, the smart way to fight him is to go take him down over and over,” Cormier said. “I did that against Derrick Lewis and people gave me flack for it, ‘All he did was wrestle.’ I’m not going to stand up with him. I’m not going to go and stand up with Francis Ngannou. I’m telling you, I’m telling him. If you’re going to be upset about me taking him down over and over, that’s just what you’re going to have to deal with. I don’t want to get knocked out. That’s what’s going to happen if I stand there. If I stand there, he would knock me out. I would probably wrestle him the whole time until I would submit him.”

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Callout Collection: Who UFC 249 winners want next – and how likely they’ll get them

??? and ??? made clear their intentions when they name-dropped their preferred next opponents following victories at UFC 249.

Earning wins in the UFC is certainly no easy task, but what comes next is often even more important: the post-fight callout.

So after Saturday’s UFC 249 event in Jacksonville, who took advantage of their time on the mic? See below for this week’s Callout Collection – and just how realistic each one is.

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First up, let’s take a look at the heaviest hitter on the card …

Francis Ngannou

Wants to fight: For the UFC heavyweight title

The callout: “You know, that’s very frustrating. Where do I feel like a fit? I don’t know. I was expecting this fight to be for the title – after JDS (Junior Dos Santos) I expected to fight for the title, but it didn’t happen. Then we asked the UFC for the interim title fight on this fight and they didn’t make it. To be honest I don’t know exactly where the division is right now. So I’m just here. Let’s see, fight on, fight out my contract, see how it goes.”

The reality: While not a direct call for a title fight, [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag]’s post-fight interview at UFC 247 certainly said plenty to suggest that he’s both frustrated and impatient at the lack of movement above him in the heavyweight rankings.

Ngannou’s performances have been undeniable, and he clearly deserves another shot at the belt, but equally undeniable is the need for defending champion [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] and former champ [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] to complete their trilogy.

It’s a tricky spot for the UFC, with Miocic and Cormier unlikely to fight until the summer. But with Ngannou seemingly hinting that he’s prepared to fight out his contract, the UFC may need to make some moves to make sure “The Predator” is happy while he waits for Stipe and “DC” to finish their business.

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Next up, the newly-crowned interim champ targets the undisputed crown: 

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Sean Shelby’s Shoes: What’s next for Justin Gaethje, Henry Cejudo and UFC 249’s key winners?

See who champs Justin Gaethje, Henry Cejudo should fight next after their victories at UFC 249.

(ALSO SEE: Sean Shelby’s Shoes: What’s next for UFC 249’s losing fighters?)

After every event, fans wonder whom the winners will be matched up with next.

With another night of UFC action in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look forward, put on a pair of Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard’s shoes, and play UFC matchmaker for UFC 249’s key winning fighters.

Those included [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] (22-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC), who claimed the interim lightweight belt with a fifth-round TKO of Tony Ferguson (25-4 MMA, 15-2 UFC) in the main event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) who defended bantamweight gold against Dominick Cruz (22-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in the co-headliner, as well as [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC), [autotag]Greg Hardy[/autotag] (6-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) and [autotag]Anthony Pettis[/autotag] (23-10 MMA, 10-9 UFC).

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Anthony Pettis

Anthony Pettis vs. Rafael dos Anjos

Should fight: [autotag]Rafael dos Anjos[/autotag]
Why they should fight: Pettis got a much-needed win in his rematch with Donald Cerrone, taking a unanimous decision to improve to 2-1 as a welterweight.

Pettis’ mission statement going into fight night was to get his confidence back to he can put together a run and built the form that once made him a UFC champion. He had a solid first step, but the next one should be a bigger challenge.

In the immediate aftermath of his win, Pettis received a callout from dos Anjos (30-13 MMA, 18-11 UFC), who took the lightweight title from him in March 2015. Both men have been through a lot since, but a rematch would be compelling. “Showtime” just won a rematch where he won the first fight, and now it’s time to see how he performs in one where he lost.

Greg Hardy

Maurice Greene

Should fight: [autotag]Maurice Greene[/autotag]
Why they should fight: Early adversity didn’t prevent Hardy from getting a crucial career win as he outpointed Yorgan De Castro to take a unanimous decision.

The leg kicks were a big issue for Hardy early, but he was able to turn the tide and snap his two-fight skid. The former NFL standout is definitely a controversial figure in MMA due to his checkered past, but he’s proving himself fight over fight, and it doesn’t appear he’ll be going anywhere anytime soon.

Hardy’s most recent loss to Alexander Volkov seems to have served as a learning experience. He shouldn’t jump back up to that level immediately, but putting himself somewhere in the middle between that and De Castro seems like a good fit.

Greene (8-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) might be on a two-fight skid, but he’s got a trio of UFC wins to his credit and is a person who fits right into the wheelhouse of what Hardy needs.

Francis Ngannou

Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou

Should fight: Winner of [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag]
Why they should fight: Although he was already the top contender, Ngannou solidified his spot with a 20-second knockout of Jairzinho Rozenstruik to improve his winning streak to four.

The heavyweight division is a bit of a mess at the moment. Growing discontent between UFC president Dana White and champ Miocic over the timeline for his next defense against Cormier has led to discussions of stripping the belt. If that happens, Ngannou will come into the fold.

Ultimately, cooler heads should prevail, and we’ll get the Miocic vs. Cormier trilogy. Ngannou should absolutely fight for the belt after that, it just remains to be seen if he’s willing to wait for it or opt to take another fight to keep busy in the meantime.

Henry Cejudo

Henry Cejudo

Should fight: No one
Why: Cejudo retired from MMA following his TKO win and successful title defense against Cruz, and unless the UFC truly makes it worth his while from a financial perspective, “Triple C” is not coming back.

UFC president Dana White said post-fight that he’ll give Cejudo about nine days to mull it over and either walk back his decision or be certain of it. If it’s the latter, the 135-pound belt will become vacant and two new names will compete for it later this year.

Watch the video above for more.

Justin Gaethje

Khabib Nurmagomedov

Should fight: [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag]
Why they should fight: Watch the video above to see why Gaethje should meet champion Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) in a title unification bout next.

UFC 249: Fighters admit hearing Daniel Cormier’s analysis in empty arena helped them win

Daniel Cormier’s voice carries well in an empty arena.

UFC 249 was finally held Saturday night in Jacksonville, Fla. and like most sporting events going forward until who knows when, there were no fans allowed in the the arena.

This led to some strange viewing on television as it’s just weird to not hear fans screaming and yelling (or wooing, which stinks) during the fights.

But something crazy came out of the quiet – two fighters admitted after their fights that they had heard UFC legend/announcer Daniel Cormier’s analysis from cageside during their fights and they were able to use that to their advantage.

Carla Esparza was one of those fighters, as she said after her win over Michelle Waterson that DC’s words helped her mix it up more in her fight:

James Hardy, who kicked off the pay-per-view with a win over Yorgan De Castro in a stinker of a fight, also got help from Cormier:

This is a pretty wild development with these empty arena fights. Cormier said later in the broadcast that there’s nothing he can do to avoid this, and he’s right, he has a job to do.

But it will be interesting if more fighters gain an advantage by hearing Cormier or other announcers going forward.

UFC 249: Daniel Cormier’s cageside tour shows how different things will be tonight

The announcers at UFC 249 will not be sitting next to each other.

The UFC is back in action tonight for the first time since March 14, even though a fighter, Jacare Souza, and two of his cornermen tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday night.

But the show is still going on tonight in Jacksonville, Fla. with a title fight between Henry Cejudo and Dominick Cruz as the co-main event and an interim title fight between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje as the main event.

No fans will be inside the Jacksonville Arena and the cageside setup will be a lot different than normal as they rightfully set it up with social distancing rules in place.

Daniel Cormier, who will be calling the fights with Jon Anik and Joe Rogan, gave a tour of the setup a few hours before UFC 249 begins. The announcers will all be sitting apart from each other, as will the others who will be cageside.

Check this out:

This should be an interesting night fights. Hopefully it’s entertaining and everyone comes out of it OK.

VIdeo: Here’s what UFC 249 looks like cageside with social distancing in mind

This is not your normal fight night setup.

For anybody who wondered what would happen if a fighter tested positive for coronavirus before UFC 249, the answer is nothing. The show goes on.

Indeed, even after Ronaldo Souza and two cornermen came back COVID-19 positive Friday night, UFC 249 will continue as planned in Jacksonville, Fla.

All throughout fight week, the UFC has tried to enforce safety and social distancing guidelines at the host hotel, where roughly 300 people have been staying. Tonight, those folks all shift to VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, which will be empty except for fighters, their corners, and only essential promotion, commission and production staff.

That will include individually spaced-out tables cageside for the commentating crew of Jon Anik, Joe Rogan and [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag], who offered a tour of what things will look like (via Twitter).

This is what @ufc 249 looks like. Tables apart. Very spaced out. Little different but it’s ok because the fights are back!!!!!!! LFG

There’s also this 360-degree view of the arena from the UFC (via Instagram):

View this post on Instagram

Welcome to #UFC249! 🤩

A post shared by ufc (@ufc) on

Here’s hoping we get through the night and two events next week without anybody else catching COVID-19.

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The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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Stipe Miocic explains delay in Daniel Cormier trilogy, while Dana White expresses impatience

Is the clock ticking on the highly anticipated third title fight between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier?

As much as UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] wants to fight [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag], he’s going to wait to accept a bout offer.

On Monday, Cormier urged Miocic to “sign the contract.” On Tuesday, Miocic (19-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) responded to explain why he hasn’t agreed to fight in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I didn’t know (Cormier) was calling his shots,” Miocic told ESPN. “Wow, I mean. … I can’t really do anything because, again, my state is shut down for another month. Who knows how long after that? … Every gym shut down. I literally can’t train. How am I going to take another fight? I don’t understand what he’s (talking about).

“Listen, I’ll fight him. I never said I’m ducking him or leaving or running or trying to fight someone else, like he did. I just can’t train, dude. I’ll fight you. Let me make sure I get a full camp, dude. I’m down.”

In addition to being in the midst of a statewide lockdown, Miocic recently told MMA Junkie his sense of duty as a firefighter has put cagefighting on the back burner. Miocic estimates a fall 2020 return, citing his need for a 10 to 12-week training camp to prepare.

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Chiming in on a recent episode of the “UFC Unfiltered” podcast, Dana White weighed in on Miocic’s comments. The UFC president doesn’t agree with Miocic’s claim that fighting is “always going to be there.”

“Next in line right now, we’ve got Cormier waiting for Stipe to come back,” White said when talking about the implications of Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik on May 9. “We’ll see.

“I saw a quote from Stipe recently where Stipe said, ‘There’s bigger things going on in the world right now. Fighting will be there forever.’ That’s not true. Fighting will not be there forever. I mean, when you’re a professional athlete, your window of opportunity is very, very small. Hopefully we can get Stipe back in there soon with Cormier and get the heavyweight division rolling.”

Prior to the pandemic, Miocic was on the home stretch of his road to recovery from an eye injury. Neither Miocic nor Cormier has competed inside the cage since their headlining bout at UFC 241 this past August. Miocic defeated Cormier by knockout in Round 4.

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Daniel Cormier regrets losing to Stipe Miocic: ‘I’m better than him’

“That is going to be one of my greatest regrets.”

When Daniel Cormier looks back on his second fight with Stipe Miocic, his thoughts are crystal clear.

Cormier and Miocic have split results over two meetings in July 2018 and August 2019. Both have claimed a knockout win to force the UFC heavyweight title to change hands, setting the table for a final clash to be determined.

Cormier admitted that he recently watched his UFC 241 loss to Miocic for the first time in starting his preparation for the third meeting. It’s a fight Cormier was winning until Miocic made a strategic adjustment to attack the body, setting up his knockout win in the fourth round.

Even in the immediate aftermath of the fight, Cormier was well aware of where and how his flaws were exposed. Despite the mixed results, Cormier believes one thing to be true.

“I’m a better fighter than Stipe Miocic,” Cormier said on the “DC & Helwani” podcast on ESPN. “I respect him, I think he’s a great guy, I think he’s a great role model, but I’m better than him. I just want to go prove it. I should’ve never lost to him. That is going to be one of my greatest regrets.

“I lost to (Jon) Jones, but he was better. Stipe Miocic is not better than me, and that’s going to be something I regret for the rest of my life, is letting him get a victory over me. It should’ve never happened.”

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Cormier (22-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) is getting impatient waiting for Miocic (19-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) to make their trilogy fight official. Before the coronavirus pandemic hit, all signs pointed to an August date, potentially in San Francisco. Everything has changed amid the crisis, though, and Cormier has said he’d be fine closing his career and rivalry with Miocic in an empty arena.

The issue is that he can’t get a commitment from the other side, as Miocic has kept a nonchalant attitude. Cormier, meanwhile, said he’s already preparing for the fight to happen. He understands Miocic is focused on his other job as a firefighter and working on the front lines to battle COVID-19, but his patience is wearing thin.

“Sign the contract,” Cormier said bluntly. “What are you doing?”

Cormier criticized Miocic for not pushing harder to get the fight done, especially considering the magnitude of the contest. An argument can be made the trilogy is shaping up to be among the best in UFC history, and Cormier said it’s time to take advantage.

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Daniel Cormier says there is no ‘Michael Jordan of MMA’: ‘I don’t think it’s just about one guy’

Former UFC champ-champ Daniel Cormier says picking MMA’s equivalent of Michael Jordan is an almost impossible task.

Who’s the GOAT? It’s the sort of discussion topic that has filled countless hours in bars across the world as sports fans debate the greatest athlete of all time in their favorite sport.

It’s no different in MMA, but former two-division UFC champion [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] says it’s less clear-cut than in some other sports.

Basketball may have Michael Jordan as its GOAT, but when asked who the “MJ” of MMA might be, “DC” admitted it was a tough call.

“Michael Jordan has long been the undisputed greatest of all time in basketball, (but) I don’t think we have that in mixed martial arts,” he suggested. “But I think when you start thinking about a guy who just personified ‘champion,’ a guy that just ran the table and did everything he was supposed to do, the right way, I guess I would say …

“I think we forget that Jordan lost in the playoffs, and he lost multiple times. Before the 90s, he lost in the playoffs about every year. So it’s not like he was undefeated, but if I had to pick a guy that just did everything the right way, I’d probably have to say Demetrious Johnson. (He) defended the belt all those times, always was so well prepared, his performances got better as he went on in his title reign. No hiccups, no mistakes, no nothing, and I think he’s one of those guys.”

But while Cormier held up “Mighty Mouse” as one of the sport’s all-time greats, he said putting one guy over and above the rest is a tricky task, with a number of fighters all holding legitimate credentials to be considered the best to ever do it. And when it comes to compiling a definitive shortlist of the greatest fighters in the sport’s history, “DC” says his name should be on it.

“I think when you start thinking about in MMA, I don’t think it’s just about one guy,” he admitted. “I think you’ve got to look at people as a whole, and there’s going to be about five or six guys that are going to sit at the top of this sport for a long time, and I think I’m one of those guys.”

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With Stipe Miocic in his sights, Daniel Cormier plots his own ‘Last Dance’ moment

Daniel Cormier admits he might’ve had his perfect ending in 2018 but is looking to recreate that moment one more time.

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] admits he may have had the perfect opportunity to end his career on a high in 2018, but he’s looking to re-create that moment one more time in 2020.

Cormier (22-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) is projected to challenge UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic later this year and plans to leave no doubt in their trilogy after the duo swapped wins, and belts, in their first two matchups.

In their first outing then-UFC light heavyweight champ Cormier moved up in weight to challenge Miocic and knocked him out in the first round to become a simultaneous two-division UFC champion.

The pair faced off a second time last August at UFC 241. But this time it was Miocic who stopped “DC” to reclaim the title and even the score at one win apiece.

Cormier knows that UFC 226 could have been a perfect ending to his career, but putting a close to his trilogy with Miocic would certainly be a special way to leave the sport.

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“The perfect scenario is to honestly – I thought UFC 226 might have been it,” Cormier told MMA Junkie. “Becoming the heavyweight champ of the world, nothing was ever going to be better. But all I could do is hope to match that (and) become the champion again. I don’t think it’s going to exceed what I did the first time because I was holding the other belt at the time, but just to accomplish that again – to attain that goal of beating Miocic again and becoming the heavyweight champ of the world – I think that’s what it looks like.

“It looks like me winning the belt, staying in this sport and working outside of mixed martial arts and just continuing to build my brand and my visibility not only through our sport but things in pop culture and other sports, ESPN and everything else.”

Having kept himself busy outside the octagon through his commentary work for the UFC, high school wrestling coaching, and many other ventures with ESPN, Cormier has certainly found his niche.

And he hopes his “Last Dance” in the octagon with Miocic can give his career a fairytale ending.