Cormier doesn’t deserve an asterisk
UNDERAPPRECIATED: Light heavyweight champion has proven himself over and over against top contenders
Daniel Cormier is the UFC light heavyweight champion. Full stop, hold the asterisk.
Nearly two years after defeating Anthony “Rumble” Johnson to claim the vacant title, the two are poised to square off again in the main event of UFC 210 this weekend in Buffalo. Yet the reigning champion remains one of the most consistently dogged, underappreciated talents to compete inside the Octagon.
On the eve of his second title defence, Cormier continues to be judged based on the crimes and misdemeanours (literally) of Jon Jones, the sublime former champion suspended from competition more times (twice) than he has competed (once) in the 27 months since he and Cormier shared the cage at UFC 182.
Losing their lone head-to-head battle two years ago somehow invalidates Cormier’s standing as the light heavyweight champion in the eyes of many, which is a little like arguing the New England Patriots aren’t the real Super Bowl champions because they lost to the Seahawks in Week 10 and never got that one back.
Just as Tom Brady & Co. subsequently beat everyone that stood on the other side of the line of scrimmage from that point forward, Cormier has done the same in the cage, turning back Alexander Gustafsson in an instant classic at UFC 192 before beating Anderson Silva on two days’ notice at UFC 200 when Jones was pulled from their scheduled rematch after testing positive for a banned substance.
“Obviously it feels good when people recognize and respect what you’ve done, but at the end of the day, you can’t really make people feel what you want them to feel,” Cormier said, speaking with The Province last week before heading to The Queen City to run things back with “Rumble” on Saturday.
Even with his loss to Jones, the fact Cormier isn’t heralded as one of the best in the sport and universally respected for what he accomplished to this point in his career is difficult to understand.
Heading into this weekend’s rematch with Johnson, the 38-yearold Cormier is 18-1 with a perfect 13-0 mark at heavyweight that includes wins over Antonio Silva, Josh Barnett and Frank Mir to go along with victories over Dan Henderson — plus the aforementioned trio of standouts he’s turned back since suffering the lone defeat of his career against Jones.
“It’s actually insane,” laughed Cormier, when asked about the asterisk many want to affix to his title reign and use to discount his tremendous career accomplishments.
“But it’s like I said, people are going to make their assessments in the way that they want to. Whatever arguments they have to make to favour their desired opinion or desired outcome, they will make that argument. So for me to sit there and pull my hair trying to change this thought process is crazy.
“It’s like beating your head against a brick wall — the wall ain’t going nowhere, and eventually your head is going to bust open and you’re going to hurt yourself very badly.”
Fans and critics will always use his loss to Jones to knock Cormier, but rather than trying to change peoples’ minds, the light heavyweight champion is focusing on the things he can control, like adding a second victory over Johnson to his resume on Saturday.
“My sole focus has to be on this weekend,” said Cormier, who longs for the chance to avenge his loss to Jones, but knows everything hinges on retaining his title this weekend.
“I’ve got to get through this guy, Rumble Johnson. He’s so tough, and if I don’t get through him, everything else is for nothing; it doesn’t matter.
“(This fight is) about my legacy. It’s about me accomplishing a goal that I set out to accomplish. It’s about me putting an end to this chapter, because once I beat him this time, that’ll be it for me and Rumble.” After that, who knows? A rematch with Jones, who is eligible to return from suspension in the summer, seems like an obvious choice, but the combo has only made it to the cage once despite being lined up opposite one another on four occasions.
Maybe fresh contender Jimi Manuwa will get his shot, or perhaps Cormier will look to add a second title to his trophy case and return to heavyweight to challenge the winner of next month’s championship tilt between Stipe Miocic and Junior dos Santos.
Whatever happens, Cormier is confident about his place in the pantheon and believes once his career is over, fans will be able to look back and appreciate everything he accomplished.
“This isn’t a mistake,” Cormier said of his success.
“You don’t get to where I am by mistake. You don’t accidentally become 18-1 as the Strikeforce champ, UFC champ, two-time Olympian and everything else that I’ve done. That’s not an accident.
“Right now, it’s hard for (fans) to see it, because for some reason — I don’t know if it’s the love for Jones, something I have done or maybe they just don’t like me — but I think when I’m gone, people will realize that what I did was pretty special.”
E. Spencer Kyte covers MMA for the Vancouver Province and Sun. Follow him on social media: @spencerkyte.