Daniel Cormier doesn’t blame the UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones to mention Alexandre Pereiraname. In fact, he would have done the same thing.
Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) hopes to return against Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) for his first title defense later this year. Interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall awaits, but Jones appears to have other ideas.
Jones called a potential fight with light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira (10-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) the biggest fight in MMA history, and Cormier thinks there’s a reason he said that.
“He’s smart,” Cormier said of Jones on his ESPN show “Good/Bad” with Chael Sonnen. “If I’m an Olympic wrestler or a national champion, and I’m looking at the big picture, weighing the money versus the fame, versus the championships and everything else, I’m doing exactly what Jon is doing. I’m saying to myself, ‘I’ve been there with the scariest, most dangerous men in the world. I’ve been there with extremely well-trained guys, with incredible kickboxers, with super heavy punchers. I was able to manage it. But the one I haven’t been there with is a guy who is a straight kickboxer.
“Although he has improved a lot on the ground, no one would say that this is Alex Pereira’s strong point. His strength is his striking and he can knock you out. … Not everyone hits like Francis Ngannou or Alex Pereira, but if you can get away from that and do it, it’s a lot less risky than fighting a guy with the full set of skills, that’s it. That’s exactly what Tom Aspinall appears to be. So I love what Jon is doing in terms of being smart and finding the right match. I don’t know if it’s going to fly.”
Cormier sees Pereira doing the same thing by targeting a rematch with Jiri Prochazka over Magomed Ankalaev.
“Tip the champion,” Cormier continued. “The champion said, ‘Hey, I think Jiri Prochazka is next. Ankalaev will have to wait. Intelligent! Alex, why would you fight Ankalaev? He will try to fight you. He’s going to fight the guy you already knocked out.
“These athletes are much smarter today than they were before and I believe that makes the sport even more interesting. I love that. I love what Jon is doing, I love what Alex is doing, but I think Jon is choosing, ‘I’m not going to fight Tom Aspinall!’”
