New champ Cormier lauds 'nice guy' Johnson

Anthony "Rumble" Johnson showed his class when, just minutes after losing to Daniel Cormier in their UFC 187 showdown for the UFC light-heavyweight title, he took the initiative of putting the gold belt around his victorious opponent's waist.

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

New champ Cormier expects to fight Jon Jones again

New UFC light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier is convinced that he will one day face former titleholder Jon Jones again – that is, once "Bones" has gotten his life in order.

Jones was suspended and stripped of his title by the UFC after his involvement in a hit-and-run incident in Albuquerque, and Cormier wound up taking his place at UFC 187, where he faced Anthony Johnson for the now-vacant belt.

Cormier survived an onslaught by Johnson in the opening round and went on to win by submission in the third when he forced "Rumble" to tap to a rear-naked choke.

After his win, Cormier sent a short but blunt statement to Jones: "Jon Jones, get your sh*t together, I'm waiting for you!"

"It's unfortunate, but I believe he'll get his stuff together, and him and I will fight again," Cormier said in the post-fight press conference, as quoted by MMA Fighting.

"I said, I'm the kid at the wrestling tournament who's always in your bracket. It's not just one tournament. It's over the course of the year," he added.

Jones had already beaten Cormier when they first fought in January, which the new champion compared to being defeated "at a dual meet at a regional tournament."

"But there's still a state tournament and a national tournament. So there's plenty of times for him and I to compete against each other," he added.

At the same time, Cormier made it clear that although he did not beat Jones, his claim on the light-heavyweight belt is still legitimate.

"You see what's sitting right there? That's a gold belt," Cormier said. "That thing's reserved for the UFC champion."

"I didn't disqualify myself from competition. Jon did. Jon's the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world. We all know that," he added.

"But he disqualified himself from this competition right now, so I am the champion. I'm very proud of what I accomplished tonight," he stressed.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Cormier submits Johnson to nab UFC title

It took him two attempts, but Daniel Cormier was finally able to claim the UFC light-heavyweight championship.

Cormier forced Anthony "Rumble" Johnson to submit to a rear naked choke in the third round of their main event showdown at UFC 187 to become the new light-heavyweight champion.

It was a quick turnaround for Cormier, who in January lost to Jon "Bones" Jones in his first attempt to gain the UFC gold. Jones was then supposed to defend his belt against Johnson, but was stripped of his title and suspended by the UFC for a hit-and-run incident in Albuquerque, Texas.

Cormier stepped up to face Johnson for the now-vacant UFC title, and despite fighting on short notice, he was able to come away with the victory.

It was Johnson, however, who got off to a better start, even briefly dropping Cormier in the opening round with a huge right hand.

"DC" regained control in second ground, and began to use his world-class wrestling skills to dominate "Rumble." He tried to lock in a submission – including at one point, a kimura – but Johnson was able to escape.

In the third round, Cormier was finally able to lock in a rear naked choke, forcing Johnson to tap at the 2:39 mark.

Johnson, who lost for the first time since January 2012, was all class following his defeat, and even put the belt on Cormier himself.

Following his victory, Cormier turned his sights to the man who had beaten him a few months ago.

"Jon Jones, get your sh*t together, I'm waiting for you," he shouted before turning to celebrate with his team.

Cormier improved his record to 16-1; Johnson, for his part, dropped to 19-5.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Weidman TKOs Belfort to retain UFC title

It took defending champion Chris Weidman less than one round to brutally stop Vitor Belfort and retain his UFC middleweight title in the co-main event of UFC 187 Saturday in Las Vegas (Sunday in Manila).

Weidman took down Belfort and unloaded a series of punishing shots, forcing referee Herb Dean to stop the title fight at the 2:07 mark of the first round.

It was Weidman's third successful title defense, following a stoppage of Anderson Silva in December 2013 and a decision over Lyoto Machida at UFC 175 in July 2014.

Weidman was in trouble in the early minutes as Belfort connected on left hands and uppercuts that forced the champion to go on the defensive. He was able to take control of the fight, however, and Belfort had no answer for the brutal ground-and-pound that Weidman unleashed.

"He hit me with some good shots, but I've been there in sparring," Weidman said after the fight, as quoted by the Associated Press. "I was just covering, covering, covering, and I was ready to come back."

Belfort, for his part, offered no excuses.

"He got me in a bad position, and he got some strikes. There's no excuse. He was a better man tonight," said the Brazilian fighter.

Weidman remains unbeaten in his MMA career with a 13-0 record, while Belfort dropped to 24-11.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Jon Jones stripped of UFC title, suspended

Jon "Bones" Jones has been stripped of his light heavyweight title and is suspended indefinitely, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced in a statement.

This comes after the 27-year-old Jones turned himself in to Albuquerque authorities on a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury.

"As a result of the charge and other violations of the Athlete Code of Conduct Policy, the organization believes it is best to allow Jones time to focus on his pending legal matters," the UFC said.

"UFC feels strongly that its athletes must uphold certain standards both in and out of the Octagon," it added.

The UFC said it was disappointed but "remains supportive of Jones as he works through the legal process."

Jones was supposed to defend his light heavyweight belt against Anthony Johnson on May 23 in the main event of UFC 187.

Daniel Cormier – whom Jones beat earlier this year – will replace him in the main event.

Jones made his first appearance at the San Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court on Tuesday and was released on a bail continuance, MMA Fighting reported.

It is the latest issue to hound Jones, who failed a drug test ahead of his UFC 182 bout against Cormier, when traces of the primary metabolite for cocaine were found in his system. He entered a rehabilitation center but stayed for only one night; the UFC fined him $25,000 for violating the Athlete Code of Conduct Policy.

Jones apologized to fans on Twitter, saying: "Got a lot of soul searching to do. Sorry to everyone I've let down."

Jones, the top pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC, won the light-heavyweight title on March 19, 2011, beating Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. He has defended the belt eight times.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Jones, Weidman to defend titles at UFC 187

MANILA, Philippines – UFC champions Jon "Bones" Jones and Chris Weidman are both seeing action on May 23 as they will defend their titles against separate challengers at UFC 187 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, the UFC announced.

Jones will defend his light-heavyweight belt for ninth time against top contender Anthony "Rumble" Johnson in the main event of the evening.

Jones is coming off a successful title defense against Daniel Cormier in early January, after which it was revealed that he had failed an out-of-competition drug test by testing positive for cocaine metabolites.

Meanwhile, Weidman returns to action when he faces off against Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort in the co-main event.

Weidman will be making the second defense of the belt that he won off former champion Anderson Silva at UFC 162 in July 2013.

Weidman was originally scheduled to fight Belfort at UFC 181 last December, but the bout had to be rescheduled when the champion suffered a broken hand. It was re-set for February 28, only for Weidman to suffer another injury in training, leading to another postponement.

In the undercard, Donald "Cowboy" Cerrnoe takes on unbeaten Khabib Nurmagomedov in a showdown that will have implications in the title picture of the lightweight division.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com