While Jon "Bones" Jones, the top mixed martial artist in the world pound-for-pound, will likely defend his UFC light heavyweight title against Alexander Gustafsson next, a frequent antagonist will be rooting for him to succeed.
Jon Jones mocks Phil Davis following loss
Daniel Cormier, an accomplished fighter at the heavyweight division who has dropped to light heavyweight, has never lost a round of action in the UFC. He is slated to take on Dan Henderson next, and has eyes on "Bones" and his title.
"I would like to be the guy to knock him off. I would like that. I believe it means more to beat Jon Jones. He's such a dominant champion," Cormier said.
Dana White calls "Bones" greatest light heavyweight ever?
"He's got the most title defenses, and he's the most dominant champ in the history of the division. Does it have to be him? No. I want to be champ. It doesn't have to be Jones but would it mean more to become the champ by beating Jon Jones? Yes. It's like Chris Weidman. Look at what it did for Chris Weidman beating Anderson Silva. It would have been different if he had beaten Vitor Belfort."
Cormier's angled for a Jones fight for quite some time, while Jones has dismissed him and questioned his resume as a light heavyweight. He was scheduled to take on Rashad Evans at UFC 170, but injury forced Patrick Cummins to take Evans' spot. Cormier won easily via KO in the first round, but the win hardly boosted his resume. This Saturday, he'll take on an aging but respected veteran in Dan Henderson.
At 43 years old, Henderson is only two months removed from a brutal victory over Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Henderson surprised many by coming back in that fight to earn a knockout, but Cormier thinks the rapid turnaround isn't smart for the legend.
"To give Dan a compliment but also to almost insult him at the same time, he's so knuckleheaded that he doesn't know when he's out of a fight. When you talk about Dan Henderson's chin, it's legendary," Cormier said.
"But back in the day he never fell down. He would take those shots and he wouldn't fall. Now he's getting dropped a lot. It's the wear and tear of a really long career. He's fought more than 40 times, and I think he might have needed more time to recover. I think your chin has an expiration date on it. It just happens. And I think it works to my advantage he's back in the cage in less than two months."
Could Cormier finally conquer Jones? Let us know @SportsWN
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