Cormier won their main event fight by submitting Johnson in the third round. It was Johnson's first loss since January 2012, yet he showed no ill will towards the new champion.
Cormier could not help but express his admiration for Johnson in an appearance on The MMA Hour, telling Ariel Helwani that Johnson was "a nice guy."
"I think maybe, he showed exactly how nice he is by behaving in the way that he did," he said. "A lot of times, losing a fight is tough."
"In your darkest hours, I guess your true colors show. And Anthony Johnson is made of gold, if you ask me, for the way that he handled that," he added.
For Cormier, having his beaten opponent wrap the belt around his waist "made my experience different."
It is usually UFC president Dana White who puts the belt on the champion.
"By putting on the belt, he made my experience of being crowned a champion different than anyone else in the UFC's history," said Cormier. "Nobody has done that."
"So thank you, Anthony Johnson, for making my experience different. I appreciate it, and I appreciate you," he added.
After beating Johnson – and with former champion Jon Jones still suspended – Cormier is setting his sights on other contenders for the belt.
"All these guys are in play now. We'll see how long Jon's situation takes, even if he does come back. I win the fight against Jon, I win the rematch, I can still fight all these new guys," he said.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
