By Ivan Miroslavov Dimitrov
In LAS VEGAS – At UFC 178 media day, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier exchanged shots during the promotion of the event Monday afternoon. This has proven to be probably one of the most interesting and beneficial moments in recent MMA history. The two fighters were involved in a chaotic action scene in the MGM Grand, that spiked so much interest that everyone including their grandmother will be buying the pay per view.
On September 21 2013. Jones defended his title in a grueling five round fight with Swedish contender Alexander Gustafsson via decision. Jones and Gustafsson gave the audience an epic battle an exhibited top-notch skills. Both of them ended up in the hospital after the fight and Jon passed former champ Tito Ortiz for the record of most consecutive title defenses in the division and made history. Lots of fans thought that this bout was rather controversial and demanded a rematch.
After the fight, the champ wasn’t looking too keen on giving the Swede another shot at his belt but due to some pressure by the UFC and fans, another fight was scheduled between the two. Alexander had to withdraw due to a torn meniscus and guess who got the chance! A man who has been on his heels and literally begging for a title fight. That man is Daniel Cormier – who placed 4th in the 2004 olympics. He won bronze at a 2007 WC and is a force to be reckoned with.
Jones and Cormier are known not to have any love lost between them as they both have stated that from the moment they met each other they got off on the wrong foot and since then they honestly do not like each other in any way, shape or form.
What makes the situation so profitable for the UFC and desirable by the public, both the hardcore fans and the ones who follow only the big names in the sport, is that these kind of fights feel so much genuine. Whenever there is some history behind it all, you can’t help but feel that somehow this fight is more important. From this point on it is not just about the rankings and who gets to be the champion, it is about that basic instinct we all have as human beings which tells us that there is a battle regarding those men’s honor and what they stand for. Take that kind of altercation, sprinkle it with a little bit of news covering and media effect and you have the recipe for a Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier or a Mike Tyson vs Lennox Lewis fight feel.
The situation elevated the attention towards the fight so much that sports channels invited the two just so they could give a play-by-play commentary on the brawl.
I know that there are a lot of people that think that a situation like this should be considered as a disaster and that their actions are dragging the sport of Mixed Martial Arts back to the “dark ages”. Brawls by themselves are undeniably pointless and dangerous. There was the potential of circumstances getting way out of hand and one of the participants getting hurt but at the end of the day this is not dancing. This whole sport is about taking two alpha male fighters, who in this case hate each other and both want to be called “the best in the world”, and putting them in a cage to showcase how much better they are than the other competitor. This is the reason we watch MMA and not WWF. And to the fans of the professional wrestling I would say that in the Jon Jones – Daniel Cormier case… it is actually the best of both worlds.
Six days later the story gets even better. During an ESPN interview Jon and Daniel exchange brutal words and the champ threatened Cormier that he would literally kill him. All this happened while they were not aware that the camera was actually rolling. When things get to such a personal level you can’t help but wonder what would take place when those two met inside the Octagon.
Between the champion and the number one contender you have got not only two of the best in the entire sport, but also two undefeated men, one is a two time Olympian the other – the youngest Light-heavyweight champion and a true virtuoso in the cage. They are two of the best that the UFC has to offer for building a fan base and handling media interviews. Jones was even invited to go on the Jimmy Fallon show, is sponsored by Nike and Gatorade and both of them are in a way company men, who are of utmost value to the UFC and ZUFFA which owns it. That is the reason why this draws so much attention. Two golden boys, who can’t stand each other so much that they would choose to throw caution to the wind. This gets the consumers blood pumping and everyone is hyped to see the fight.
And I love all of this. Unfortunately what makes me worried is that this could end up being an awesome display of skill and strength at the highest level… or a match that will disappoint us all. Whenever the stakes are so high and fighters are this much personally invested, more often than not both men become very hesitant to engage. When Jones fought Rashad Evans, his former training partner and good friend, they both didn’t want to lose that fight so much out of spite to the other guy, that they didn’t try enough to win in a decisive fashion. In my opinion this will not be the case here as Cormier, being way shorter, does not have a chance winning while staying on the outside of Jones who has the longest reach in the UFC. Both fighter’s game plans will be of a crucial importance.
This could have been the best fight of the year until Jones pulled out because of an injury, which led to the fight being moved to January 3rd 2015 for UFC 182 in Vegas. Even if this had not happened, they were 5 weeks away from fight night and already so much momentum had been built that one has to wonder what would have happened next and could they have sustained this for so long.
This fight has had a rippling effect in the division which concerns Alexander Gustafsson and his career. Rumors have started to come up, saying that UFC president Dana White wants him to face Anthony Johnson instead of waiting for the winner of DC and Jones.
With so much at stake, especially bragging rights and the belt, neither one of the two fighters can allow defeat to be the outcome. In order for Jones to have the career that he dreams of and to become the best fighter on the UFC roster he needs a win over Cormier. Daniel on the other hand, who is a training partner of UFC’s Heavyweight champion, possesses the qualities needed to give Jon a run for his money and go home with the belt around his waist. He truly believes that the people who have fought Jones have not had the dedication, work ethic, confidence and heart which he, as a captain of the Olympic Wrestling team, has proven to call upon during his bouts.
For the fans the hard part is waiting. We know that when the door closes and the ref goes “let’s do this” neither of the stuff up until now will matter. It will all come down to who has had a harder training camp and who wants to get his hand raised in the end. One of them will and the other won’t. We just need to wait a few months more to find out which man will be crowned champion.
Sloth Jiu-Jitsu: you can be slow and unathletic and still kick butt in Jiu-Jitsu.