RUMBLE PREPARES A REPEAT DOSE
DANIEL CORMIER is predicting an action replay when he meets Anthony Johnson for the second time at UFC 210 next month.
Cormier defends his lightheavyweight title against Johnson in New York on April 8 and said: “He is simply just not good enough to beat me.”
Cormier came out on top when the pair met for the vacant belt two years ago, with “Rumble” winning by submission in the third round.
Super-confident Cormier, 38, has no doubts he is heading for a repeat result.
He said: “I’m going to beat him again this time. Of course, he will continue to beat all the other guys in the division because that’s how good he is.
“After all, he was a very tough guy and knocked out some good people when he was fighting at 170lbs.
“But now, at 205lbs, he’s the third best fighter in the world. It’s nothing to be ashamed of – but he’s not good enough to beat me.
“I still think he will end up giving up in this fight. He’s done it before. It’s something we’ve seen from him so many times before.”
Unsurprisingly, 33-year-old Johnson begs to differ after losing just once in his last 13 bouts and believes he is more prepared for Cormier this time.
He said: “I’m hungry now. I wasn’t as hungry in the first fight because the opponent was changed at the last minute.”
That change came after the suspension of his intended opponent, then champion Jon Jones, and Johnson said: “That kind of threw me.
“This time I just plan on going out there and fighting. I believe he’s going to try and trade with me, but at the end of the day he is a wrestler.
“I’m going to make him have to wrestle me. Because if I hit him with a better shot than I hit him with last time, he’s in for a long night.
“I look forward to seeing what Daniel can do. I look forward to seeing what I can do against Daniel. It will be very interesting.”