Daniel Cormier: Jon Jones’ UFC 197 Performance ‘The Norm’ After USADA, IV Ban
The time has almost come for UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, and interim champion Jon Jones to meet inside the Octagon to settle their differences.
The two men have previously met once before at UFC 182 in January of last year, that saw the then-champion Jones successfully retain his title against ‘DC’ in dominating fashion.
Cormier recently spoke to FOX Sports, and commented on the exchange between him and his coach after succumbing to Jones on that fateful night:
“I usually get a better guy in the cage than I do in the gym and you didn’t do that. You fought like s–t tonight,” Cormier said.
“No patting me on the back, making me feel better, I’m crying, I’m sad — he didn’t comfort me. He told me the absolute truth. I go back and I watch that fight and he’s right. I didn’t fight at my best.”
Cormier admitted he was ‘an emotional wreck’ leading into the first fight with Jones, however, that is no longer the case as he has not let ‘Bones’ consume his life like he did the last time:
“I’m not an emotional wreck like I was last time. Last time it was bad. Like really, really bad. Like I couldn’t even live my day-to-day life because I was so consumed by this man,” Cormier said. “Not anymore. I train for Jon Jones and I go about living my day-to-day life like I need to.
I don’t feel that blood boiling hatred that I felt the first time. I know that because I sat down with him for an hour and did an interview.
Yes it was intense but I sat there for an hour and never felt the need to jump up and grab him like I did the first time. I felt the need to sit there and do my job with the idea knowing I would get my opportunity to do what I want to do with him.”
Jones was held away from the sport due to some legal issues for nearly a year, being stripped of the belt in the process, and finally made his return to action at UFC 197 against Ovince St-Preux in April.
Many criticized Jones for a lackluster performance in the bout, not putting on the spectacle we are used to seeing when the athletic freak steps inside the Octagon. Cormier believes that the Jones that fought in April is the Jon Jones we will see at UFC 200, as the sport has changed since he’s been away:
“The guy that fought April 23 — that’s Jon Jones,” Cormier explained. “He will fight like that because that is Jon Jones today.
This isn’t Jon Jones from 2014, 2015 or anywhere going all the way back. The game is different now with everything. With USADA, with no IVs, the game is so different, the game has changed so much in the time he was away that what we saw on April 23 is who he is.
I truly believe that. In his mind, he needs to come to terms with the fact that on April 23, that was not a bad performance. That’s just the norm now for him.”
While Jones was watching from the sidelines, Cormier was putting on spectacular performances and defeating the cream-of-the-crop that the 205-pound division has to offer. ‘DC’ defeated the likes of Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson to win the then-vacant title, and defended it in an absolute war against Swedish phenom Alexander Gustafsson:
“I’m confident but not because of the way he fought. I’m confident because of the way I fought against Anthony Johnson and Alexander Gustafsson.
That’s why I’m confident. My confidence comes from my fights and my training. My confidence doesn’t come from him looking not as good as he used to,” Cormier explained.
“My confidence doesn’t come from him doing all this power lifting and getting slower. My confidence didn’t come from all that.
My confidence comes from knowing I do the right things in my life. I do the right things in the gym. I do the right things all together.
My confidence comes from me, not from Jon Jones. I can’t draw my confidence from another person. I need to do this on my own and that’s why I’m so sure I’m going to have my hand raised on July 9.”
The blockbuster main event will finally go down at UFC 202 live on pay-per-view (PPV), from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 9, 2016.
