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Last week, on April eighth, during UFC 210 at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York, Daniel Cormier, aka ‘DC’, retained his UFC Light Heavyweight Title against Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson via submission during the second round of their main event rematch.
Cormier also beat Johnson via submission during their previous encounter at UFC 187 in May of 2015- a match-up which was contested for the then vacant title.
Cormier, a wrestler who lives by the adage of “embracing the grind” specialises in the grappling and clinch game of MMA. Ideally, his opponent, Johnson, should have kept the fight upright and maintained his distance but he made the grave mistake of attempting to outwork the two times Olympian at his own game.
Johnson tapped out less than four minutes into the second round after he found that his energy levels had entered into the red zone. ‘Rumble’ is generally known for his ferocious one punch knockout power, but Cormier once again solved the biggest power puzzle in the UFC by stifling his opponent using his wrestling pedigree.
It turned out to be Johnson’s last fight as he announced his retirement from the organisation following the defeat.
Prior to the fight, Cormier caused uproar at the UFC 210 weigh-ins when he failed to make the 205 pound weight limit, but in an ultra-quick turn of events he reappeared on the scale less than two minutes later and miraculously shed 1.2 pounds and made the weight.
How did he achieve this feat?
In what has since been labelled as ‘towel-gate’ by those in the MMA community; when Cormier reappeared and attempted to make weight for the second time, he stripped down and cunningly- it must be stated allegedly, of course- used the weigh-in towel as leverage to deflect his weight away from the scale which he was standing on. He subsequently made up for the 1.2 pound deficit and ultimately made weight.
It must be noted that Cormier is a wily old veteran who is well versed in many of the old school style heelish tricks and tactics that have been successfully deployed by those in the professional wrestling circuit for eons.
Supposedly it is a trick that has been used by those who are privy to such nefarious tactics many times before, but even more alarmingly, Cormier was still cleared to compete by the New York State Athletic Commission. It seems that those in commission were simply not willing to draw a line through a lucrative main event title fight with the stroke of a pen, and the fight was subsequently allowed to take place.
When quizzed by journalists Cormier denied any degree of wrongdoing, but it has to be argued that any admission of guilt would have opened up a whole new can of worms with regards to codified rules and regulations within the sport.
The 38 year old has had notable issues in the past having been pulled from the 2008 Olympic Games due to a catastrophic weight cut that nearly resulted in kidney failure.
Anthony Johnson has since lodged an official complaint to the New York State Athletic Commission concerning Cormier’s weigh-in shenanigans and originally asked for him to be stripped of his title.
Cormier was subsequently lambasted for the sheer audacity of his artful dodger-like antics, but one has to wonder if someone like Conor McGregor had pulled the same stunt, would he have drawn the ire of fans in a similar way? No doubt, McGregor probably would have been heralded as a genius- but Cormier remains a much maligned figure by fans of the sport.
Interestingly, Anthony Johnson has a rap sheet which includes a history of violent conduct charges, yet he was the one who managed to garner the widespread adulation of the crowd during the event while Cormier was subjected to torrents of jeers and boos.
It has to be argued that Cormier is one of a select few naturally gifted trash talkers in the sport, and he believes that his popularity has suffered because he is a normal family man- and by his own admission: “sometimes normal ain’t cool”. “I may not be the funnest (sic) guy”. ”I’m pretty normal… I go home to my family and my fiancé…I don’t do anything and sometimes normal ain’t cool”. “As long as people respect me is all that matters (sic)”.
Cormier’s popularity has also suffered because many fans still regard his great rival Jon ‘Bones’ Jones as the UFC’s true Light Heavyweight Champion given that he was stripped of the same title which Cormier currently holds. Jones was stripped of the title back in April 2015 and suspended by the UFC due to his involvement with a hit-and-run incident.
Last summer, during July of 2016, Jones was suspended for the second time- this time by USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) just prior to his scheduled title fight at UFC 200 due to a positive test for substances on the banned list.
But despite all this, lately, Cormier seems to have accepted the general tide of public opinion and has decided to simply roll with the antagonisms of the crowd rather than fight against them. He seemingly has adopted a new persona and has managed to stoke the flames of resentment which usually surround him in an entirely new direction. Indeed, Cormier deserves widespread acclaim for reinventing himself in this manner. It has to be argued that the UFC is not only a sport, but it is also an entertainment business, and Cormier is adapting to the role of the forward thinking protagonist exquisitely.
What’s next for DC?
It seems like a rematch with Jon Jones is on the cards considering that Jones is eligible for competition in July. Cormier previously lost a decision victory to Jones at UFC 182 in January of 2015. Given Jones’ level of superstardom within the sport, he will no doubt be the first in line to receive a title shot against Cormier.
Cormier recently told Jones: “If you’re in class and you get suspended, you don’t get to compete- until Jones gets his academics in order, he can’t talk to me about a fight”. “When he’s eligible, then we can talk about a fight”.
Fans can expect absolutely compelling levels of pre-fight verbal jousting and flame throwing sessions between the two before the real sparks fly during the fight itself- and there is no doubt that DC will sublimely fulfil his newly defined role of UFC’s protagonist villain with a great level of enthusiasm and with the most relative of ease.
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