UFC 182: Jones vs Cormier

[wandshogun09]

Good points Rey, but I wouldn't be confident he takes Jones down at will. He might, I just wouldn't be confident saying that. Cormier is a better wrestler than anyone Jones has faced before, but Jones has also looked maybe his most dominant against wrestlers. Strikers like Machida, Gustafsson and Teixeira were able to land good punches on him. When you look at the wrestlers Jones fought - Evans, Sonnen, Bader etc - they couldn't anything.

 

Again, I understand DC is on another level from that but wrestling Jones is never easy. You're always at risk, one split second error and you catch a knee shooting in or you're wrapped up in a choke.

 

To lamby's point about Jones possibly underestimating Cormier's strength, you might have a point. Remember this after the press conference brawl?...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&v=9OHgcEXiaSE

 

All in all though, I think Jones will be taking this deadly serious. For all his twattishness he knows deep down this is probably his toughest fight yet. And I think he REALLY doesn't want to have to go through another Gustafsson type war. He's been posting videos of himself training like a demon recently. I think he knows what a threat Cormier is, even if he won't admit it. That's probably what this whole rivalry comes down to, to be honest. Jones saw Cormier as a potential threat and they've just naturally butted heads because of a combination of Jones' arrogance and both of their alpha-maleness.

[lambyUK]

The thing is Wand, it's not just Cormier's wrestling that is elite level, his striking is now incredible too. Cormier won't be afraid at all to strike with Jones. Cormier isn't just fluid standing, he also possesses something Jones doesn't have, one punch knock out power. The way he can mix it up on the feet is something many people are forgetting about. Most people are saying if Jones can stifle the takedowns then it's his to win. Far from it.

[Noah Southworth]

Cormier’s punching power his incredible, but his overall striking isn’t. Striking is more than punching; it’s knees, elbows, etc, and Cormier hasn’t shown much in the way of knees and elbows or anything else other than punching. Cormier’s punching power makes him dangerous for sure, but he’s not dangerous in any other area of striking, and Jones is dangerous in more areas of striking, and that makes him the more dangerous fighter standing up, which is why I think if Jones wins this, it’ll be with some fancy strike out of nowhere, something Cormier won’t see coming.

[lambyUK]

Completely disagree Noah, at least in terms of Cormier's striking. Jones obviously is a lot more dangerous on his feet with his variation, but you've proven my point in people sleeping on Cormier's fluidity on his feet. His kicks are dangerous too and you saw elbows in the henderson fight.

 

Watch his fights in particular with Barnett and Nelson. His combinations are fantastic and you never see him simply winding up. Just listen to Pat Miletich's breakdown of Cormier's striking ability to see an expert opinion on it.

 

I'm not saying he's better than Jones standing, I'm saying if it stays on the feet somehow it's not a foregone conclusion.

[wandshogun09]

I don't think Jones wins easy on the feet, but let's not forget Jones is a fucking awesome striker now as well. I think Cormier's striking is actually underrated a bit but he's never fought a striker who mixes attacks up and uses range and angles like Jones does either. Hendo is a slow and plodding head hunter, Nelson too really. Cormier's best spells in striking are usually when he mixes his strikes up with takedowns. He's really good at that.

 

It's a tremendous fight. There's so many ways I can see it going. I just don't know with Cormier for sure. As awesome as he is and as much as I want him to win, he's fighting Jon Jones! It's hard as fuck to pick a winner. Jones is by far the best opponent Cormier will have faced, so how he looked against Hendo or Bigfoot or even Barnett mightn't mean a whole lot in this fight. On the other hand I genuinely think Cormier is the best opponent Jones will have fought, so will we see weaknesses in Jones' game that we didn't know existed?

 

That's why this fight is so interesting. They are legitimately the toughest opponents for each other out there. And they're actually going to fight. It's not like Pacquiao and Mayweather pissing about over who makes the most millions or GSP dancing around the Anderson Superfight by saying Anderson walks around at 230lbs or whatever. This is the two very best, at their best, and they're going to give us the fight while it's at its most relevant. Pacquiao vs Mayweather and GSP vs Anderson could still happen, chances are slim but never say never. But while both fights would be huge, they won't recapture that magic of what they would've been in 2009 or 2010. Jones vs Cormier is happening at the perfect time.

 

And what I love maybe most about it is it could have legs to be a trilogy. Pacquiao vs Mayweather or GSP vs Anderson would most likely be a one-off cash grab where they've waited and waited until the end of their careers to do it. Jones and Cormier still have time in MMA. This rivalry could span three fights easy. Especially with how quick the UFC like to go into rematches these days.

[Noah Southworth]

Completely disagree Noah, at least in terms of Cormier's striking. Jones obviously is a lot more dangerous on his feet with his variation, but you've proven my point in people sleeping on Cormier's fluidity on his feet.

 

Watch his fights in particular with Barnett and Nelson. His combinations are fantastic and you never see him simply winding up. Just listen to Pat Miletich's breakdown of Cormier's striking ability to see an expert opinion on it.

Not looking to start anything, but point out to me where Cormier has shown great elbows or great kicking or great anything standing up other than punching power. Footwork is one thing; using elbows and kicks effectively is something else.

[lambyUK]

 

Completely disagree Noah, at least in terms of Cormier's striking. Jones obviously is a lot more dangerous on his feet with his variation, but you've proven my point in people sleeping on Cormier's fluidity on his feet.

 

Watch his fights in particular with Barnett and Nelson. His combinations are fantastic and you never see him simply winding up. Just listen to Pat Miletich's breakdown of Cormier's striking ability to see an expert opinion on it.

Not looking to start anything, but point out to me where Cormier has shown great elbows or great kicking or great anything standing up other than punching power. Footwork is one thing; using elbows and kicks effectively is something else.

 

 

From Barnett onwards, Cormier has landed flush kicks in every single fight. He utilises elbows in close range too and used a couple elbows in his fight with Dan Henderson.

 

Edit:-

 

Here's a highlight reel. I would watch 1.45 onwards where his diverse striking is highlighted.

 

In fact screw it, watch the whole thing.

 

[Rey_Piste]

DC isn't an all round striker, but his foot work and boxing are world class. I can easily see Jones throwing a kick only to see his skinny legs grabbed and getting taken down. Fighting in close range in the clinch is very difficult for someone with long limbs and that's what I see DC doing to eliminate Jones' range.

[wandshogun09]

He's thrown some good front kicks to the face. Sure he hit Nelson and Hendo with them. That's probably not going to be of much use against someone as tall as Jones though.

 

I think he hit some nice knees on Barnett as well but it was brief. And probably some elbows on Mir when he had him against the cage. Nothing to base anything overall.

 

He is predominantly a puncher. He's a pretty good one though. Good power, he's not slow, he puts combos together so at least he's not just a plodding one shot at a time type. There's a lot to like about his standup. It's kind of Cain-esque. Boxing heavy but it works for him. Also, by not using a lot of kicks and knees, he keeps a strong base ready to wrestle, offensively and defensively.

 

I definitely favour Jones overall if they stay standing. His got more tools on the feet, plus he's got the reach, plus he uses his strikes to set up takedowns and submissions really fucking well. His striking really compliments his grappling attacks.

 

But even on the feet there's things Cormier can do to close the gap. The power could even things up slightly, and Cormier's wrestling might make Jones hesitant to kick, which is a huge part of his striking game. Then it becomes largely a boxing match with takedowns. Which sounds right up DC's street.

 

I don't know. If someone had a my bollocks in a guillotine and forced me to make a prediction (don't know why they'd do that), I'm going to say Jones. But it's agonisingly tricky to wrap my head around how this plays out.

[Noah Southworth]

I still wouldn’t go so far as to call Cormier’s striking incredible, and I still think Jones is more dangerous standing up, but Cormier is a lot more diverse standing up than I remembered.

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

I don't think either man has faced anyone like each other. Jones has never fought an elite level wrestler (part of what made a potential Jones vs Cain match exciting), but Cormier has never fought a striker remotely like Jones, which I think will be the difference.

 

Cormier can make power hitters like Bigfoot and Hendo look bad, but I don't think he can deal with Jones' speed and diversity. Not sure if the spinning stuff will come into play, but I think high kicks will be a factor, particularly question mark kicks and front teeps. Jones has the speed and dexterity to make it appear as if he's throwing kicks to the body, but instead connect to the cranium in an instant. I don't think Cormier could react quick enough to those particular techniques to score takedowns.

[David]

Shit!!!! 

 

 

Fans will have to yet again wait a little longer than expected for one of the most-anticipated fights in UFC history.

Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier for the UFC light heavyweight title had been moved from Sept. 27 to Jan. 3 due to an injury suffered in training by Jones, and yet again Jones has found himself falling to injury. The news was first reported on FOXSports.com.

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, Jones suffered a torn muscle in his right hand during a wrestling practice on Wednesday. It is unclear at this time whether he will require surgery.

"It's very disappointing," Cormier told MMAFighting.com. "I started to train very hard, just like I did for the first fight date. It's really disappointing, but I just have to wait it out. I don't know how hurt Jon is but we will hopefully find out some news over the coming days."

Jones vs. Cormier was always a fight that interested the MMA community, however, it reached a whole other level of mainstream interest after Jones and Cormier brawled in the lobby of the MGM Grand and were then caught on camera threatening each other. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hounds Of Justice]

I think Cormier is starting to become my 2nd favourite fighter behind McGregor, hope he smashes Jones smug face in, decent odds of Cormier to win as well, might stick 20 quid on him.

[jimufctna24]

Fuck off David

[Rey_Piste]

David you cunt, I nearly had a heart attack.