Jon Jones Fires Off Message To New Opponent, Daniel Cormier Interview, Robbie Lawler On Fight
- Daniel Cormier's day picked up recently, as the former U.S. Olympic wrestler was tabbed as a replacement to face Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title. The contest will take place in September at UFC 178, and "DC" admitted during an interview on UFC Tonight – which you can view above – that he hesitated in taking the bout.
"There's always going to be hesitation," he said. "You hope to have three months to prepare for a title fight, but if my coaches came to me and said I have to beat Jon Jones in five weeks, I'd do it."
Cormier (15-0) has defeated the likes of Dan Henderson, Frank Mir, Josh Barnett and Roy Nelson during his time in both the UFC and Strikeforce – and at both heavyweight and light heavyweight.
- UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones sent a message directly to his next opponent, Daniel Cormier, shortly after the fight was announced. The two will meet at UFC 178 this September for the belt. Jones was scheduled to meet Alexander Gustafsson in a rematch, but Gustafsson suffered a knee injury.
"I hope you're ready to come to daddy," Jones wrote to Cormier on Twitter. Cormier admitted that he wasn't sure how Jones did it, as he didn't believe he was following him on the social media site.
The two fighters have had plenty to say already, going head-to-head in numerous interviews while Cormier has worked in the studio of FOX Sports for UFC events.
- Robbie Lawler will take on Matt Brown this Saturday night at UFC on FOX 12, and a win over Brown will position Lawler as the No. 1 contender to the UFC welterweight title. Earlier this year, "Ruthless" lost to Johny Hendricks in a bout to determine the new champion at 170 pounds after Georges St-Pierre announced his exit.
"I've got to go out there, move my feet, dictate the pace, not let him get in my face and put a hurting on him," said Lawler, during an interview recently on UFC Tonight. "I'm going to move my feet and beat him up in every aspect of an MMA fight. I'm excited to put on a show this Saturday. I'm in great shape and ready to go."
The four-fight main card airs on FOX and also features Anthony Johnson vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Clay Guida vs. Dennis Bermudez and Josh Thomson vs. Bobby Green.