Tag Archives: Daniel Cormier

UFC 220 Odds and Prediction: Daniel Cormier vs. Volkan Oezdemir

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Daniel Cormier will defend the UFC light heavyweight title against Volkan Oezdemir on January 20th, 2018 at UFC 220 in Boston’s TD Garden.

Cormier was recently reinstated as the UFC’s 205-pound king after Jon Jones failed yet another drug test. Prior to that, Jones stopped Cormier cold during their rematch at UFC to reclaim the UFC light heavyweight crown. The loss was Cormier’s second to Jones and only the second loss of his MMA career.

Volkan Oezdemir is one of the fastest rising fighters in the UFC. A winner of three straight bouts, Oezdemir is coming off a victory over the highly touted Jimi Manuwa in July. Prior to that, Oezdemir scored a first round KO of Misha Cirkunov and came away with a split decision win over Ovince St. Preux.  

Untested Ground Game

DC is the favorite here at -300 while Oezdemir came back at +240.

Oezdemir has that one punch knockout power in him so he always has a shot to win any fight. But against Cormier, he’ll be fighting an opponent who has seen it all inside that Octagon. Cormier is one of the sport’s best grapplers owing to his collegiate and Olympic wrestling background. Against a powerful striker like Oezdemir, you bet he’s going to take this fight to the ground.

Oezdemir has real knockout power and is primarily a striker because of his kickboxing background. On his feet, he averages 6.12 significant strikes per minute landed but in three UFC fights, he has zero takedowns landed.

This is going to be his problem against Cormier who is a supreme wrestler. DC averages just 1.81 takedowns per 15 minutes but he doesn’t need to many of them. Once he gets his opponent to the ground, it’s going to be a grind.

DC is Too Smart

There is no denying that Volkan Oezdemir has the power to knock out anybody. While Cormier has a granite chin, we saw him get knocked out by Jon Jones due to voluminous strikes. Oezdemir is well capable of doing the same, that is if he withstands Cormier’s ground attack early in the fight.

We’ve seen this in many of DC’s older fights. He takes his opponents down early and punishes them on the ground. In the later rounds, his opponents get weary and Cormier begins to take over. Looks like this will be how this fight unfolds.

DC is too smart to stand and trade with Oezdemir. He’s going to take away his punching power by forcing him to the ground early. Once Oezdemir’s pop is gone, DC’s going to take care of this fight.

We’re picking Daniel Cormier to win this bout by decision.

UFC 214: Will The Daniel Cormier vs Jon Jones Rivalry End Here?

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Daniel Cormier will finally have the opportunity to legitimize his UFC Light heavyweight title against the man who is universally recognized as the best light heavyweight of all-time.

The Rematch

Jon Jones never lost the lightweight title inside the octagon. He got stripped of the belt because of his run-ins with the law. They have fought before at UFC 182 and Jones beat Cormier decisively by unanimous decision. A rematch had been set at UFC 197 but Cormier got hurt and Jones won the interim title against Ovince St. Preux.

The UFC set up a unification bout at last year’s iconic UFC 200 but Jones was pulled from the event after failing a drug test. He was subsequently suspended for one year because of the doping violation. With Jones reinstated, he will have the opportunity to get back what is rightfully his. To do that, he must beat a familiar foe. And so the rematch is set as the main event of UFC 214 on July 29, 2017 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Jon Jones is the youngest champion in the history of the UFC. Jones holds many records at 205 pounds including most wins, most consecutive and successful title defenses, longest winning streak and most career wins by submission. For several years, Jones stood as MMA’s best pound for pound fighter. That was before his personal troubles began.

Brushes With Law

Not counting the DUIs, Jon Jones had two major brushes with the law that led to his removal from the top of the light heavyweight mountain. In April 2015, he was stripped of the title after a felony hit and run incident led to him being arrested. The following year, Jones was pulled from UFC 200 three days before the event after testing positive for a banned substance during a pre-fight drug test. With all these behind him now, Jones looks to win back the belt that he believes is his.

While Jones was battling his demons, Daniel Cormier slowly carved out a niche for himself and became the UFC light heavyweight champion in Bones’ absence. The former Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix champion has won four consecutive  bouts since losing to Jon Jones at UFC 182, including two victories over Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson.

The Odds

Despite having the belt, Cormier’s title reign has has an asterisk. That’s because while he succeeded Jones as champion, he never beat the man in the first place. In fact, Cormier lost convincingly to Jones in their only meeting thus far. At UFC 214, Cormier has the opportunity to prove his doubters wrong and show the world that he truly is light heavyweight champ.

Jones is the favorite here at -250 and Cormier the betting underdog at +200. During their first bout at UFc 182, Bones was also favored by oddsmakers at -240 while Cormier was at +145. The reason we brought that up is because there isn’t really going to be too much difference between this fight and the previous one.

More Diverse Striker

Daniel Cormier is an excellent wrestler as he was an All-American and an Olympic alternate in college. His best weapons will always be his wrestling and grappling. He is most comfortable when the fight is on the ground. Three of his last five wins have been by rear naked choke so there is some development in his game. But as they say, you really can’t teach an old dog new tricks. DC will always be a wrestler and that will not work against Jones.

Jones is a superb striker and the much more diverse one compared to Cormier. Given his five inch advantage in height and one foot advantage in reach, it’s going to be a picnic out there if Cormier doesn’t take Jones down and if Jones starts to find his range. Cormier’s problems begin with Jones takedown defense though. The former champ has a 94% takedown defense which might be too good for DC’s surprisingly low 46% takedown accuracy.

The Prediction

Statistically, Jones even has the advantage in takedowns at 2.26 per fifteen minutes. On the other hand, the better wrestler Cormier is only at 1.92 over that period. With Cormier’s takedown defense only at 78%, there is a chance that Jones is even going to land some takedowns against the champ. Jones has the better submission average than DC at 0.6 to 0.4.

Jones can beat Cormier whichever way he wants to fight. That’s why it’s going to be tough to bet against Jon Jones. Sure, the long layoff tells you that he may be rusty but for an elite level athlete like him, there’s no such thing as ring rust. Jon Jones looks in fantastic shape at his training camp. That’s going to be the least of his worries. We’re picking Jones to win this by unanimous decision, just like the first bout. And with the victory should come the end of this rivalry. Jones is simply better than Cormier.

UFC 210 Predictions: Why Anthony Johnson Will Beat Daniel Cormier

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Canada’s loss is New York’s gain.

That’s because this rematch was supposed to headline UFC 206 last year in Canada. Unfortunately, the injury bug struck and it was moved to a later date which later became UFC 210 on April 8th, 2017 at the Key Bank center in Buffalo New York.

Take Two

This will be the second fight between current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier and challenger Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson. These two fought for the vacant title in 2015 during the period where Jon Jones was stripped by the UFC of his belt because of personal issues. During that fight, Daniel Cormier effectively used his wrestling base to dominate Anthony Johnson and later submit him to win the world title.

This time around, Cormier promises that he will go to to toe with Rumble, although not many believe he will actually do that against one of the hardest hitting strikers the UFC has ever seen. Johnson is coming off a one-punch annihilation of perennial contender Glover Teixeira. Cormier meanwhile has not fought since beating Anderson Silva in a special match at UFC 200. Both will be making their first ever appearance in New York.

Odds

Cormier is currently pegged at +100 while Rumble is at -130. During their first bout, both fighters were able to show their signature skills: DC with his wrestling and Rumble with his power. Unfortunately for Johnson ( or luckily for DC ), he gassed and was caught in a rear naked choke in Round 3. But that fight was almost two years ago. Cormier is now 38 and although he’s put up back to back wins over Alexander Gustafsson and Anderson Silva, time and injuries may have caught up with the champ. Cormier pulled out from two bouts last year, the latest of which was supposed to be against Rumble at UFC 206.

On the other hand, Anthony Johnson has been on a tear since losing to Cormier. Rumble has recorded three straight knockout wins over Jimi Manuwa, Ryan Bader and Glover Teixeira. None of those bouts went past round two so doubters will still think about his cardio and stamina in a five round bout. But at 33, Johnson may be at his peak. This is his second attempt at the Light Heavyweight title and it comes against the only man to beat him in this division. Rumble looks like he’s locked in focus on winning that title. We’re picking Anthony Johnson to beat Daniel Cormier and win the UFC Light Heavyweight title.

UFC 206 Preview: Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson Odds and Pick

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With Jon Jones at bay because of a recent drug suspension, the UFC’s next best Light Heavyweights will dispute the 205-pound title at the main event of UFC 206 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The Rematch

Current champion Daniel Cormier was supposed to fight Jones for the undisputed title at UFC 200 but in his latest brush with the law, Jones got pulled from the bout and is currently facing a one-year suspension for a drug violation. Instead, Cormier will be facing the red hot Anthony Johnson, who has been knocking out one contender after the other.

This will not be the first time Cormier and Johnson face each other. DC won his current title by defeating Johnson at UFC 187. The two fought for the title which was vacated when Jones was first suspended by the UFC in 2015.

Roles Reversed

DC is -135 in many books while Rumble is popular at +115. This is opposite the numbers they had when they first faced each other at UFC 187 where Rumble closed at -120 and DC at +100. Rumble Johnson was on a nine fight winning streak ( 6 by knockout ) coming to UFC 187. But after Cormier humbled him with a punishing wrestling game, the tides have been turned.

Cormier has fought twice since beating Johnson. He defeated Alexander Gustafsson by split decision and then dominated Anderson Silva in a catchweight bout at UFC 200. Rumble’s coming off knockout wins over Jimi Manuwa, Ryan Bader and Glover Teixeira. His last two wins have been by first round KO. In 27 fights, Johnson has never gone past round three.

Grounding Rumble

Cormier has said in interviews that he is going to stand and trade with Rumble Johnson this time around. You bet Cormier didn’t mean those words because obliging Rumble in a slugfest would be a death wish. Daniel Cormier has proven to have a good chin. But it’s never wise to have it tested against Rumble Johnson. For Sure DC will go back to his wrestling base in this bout. Just like how he dominated Rumble at UFC 187.

Although he landed only three takedowns in their first bout, DC attempted eight times, meaning he really tried to put the fight on the ground. Those takedowns and attempts took its toll on Rumble and negated his strengths. He became a lame duck on the ground and that led to the rear naked choke finish by Cormier in round three. Rumble Johnson will either have to knock out DC first or take him down first. The latter seems likely. Cormier’s wrestling will be the key here once again. He’s going to grind Rumble to the finish. We expect another late submission victory or a close but clear 3-2 win on the scorecards for Daniel Cormier.

UFC 206 Preview: Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson Rematch Coming

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Daniel Cormier will be defending the UFC Light Heavyweight title against Anthony Johnson at the main event of UFC 206 at the Air Canada Centre in Canada on December 10th.

The champ made the announcement himself at Wednesday’s edition of the UFC Tonight show on FS1:

Take Two

The bout marks the second encounter between the two fighters. Cormier defeated Johnson via rear naked choke submission in the third round of their title bout at UFC 187.

Back then, the two were fighting for the 205-pound title which was vacated after Jon Jones’ series of run ins with the law. After the victory, Cormier has defended the title once, against Alexander Gustafsson. The champ is coming off a unanimous decision win over Anderson Silva in a non-title bout at UFC 200.

On A Roll

Johnson meanwhile has been on a roll, winning three fights in a row since losing to Cormier. All of those victories have come via knockout. Rumble Johnson has won 12 of his last 13 bouts since returning to the UFC. The only blemish in his resume during that period was the loss to Cormier.

After knocking out Glover Teixeira in 13 seconds at UFC 202, Johnson now has the opportunity to exact revenge and finally win the title that has long eluded him.

Grounding Rumble

In his announcement, Cormier vowed to stand and trade with Rumble. He promised to knock his challenger out in the middle of the Octagon. But If we recall their first bout however, Cormier used his wrestling expertise to ground his explosive opponent. Johnson never got his offense going against Cormier who tried to keep the fight on the mat. It will be interesting to see whether Cormier is going to do as he says because going toe to toe with Anthony Johnson is a mortal sin.

In 22 MMA victories, Anthony Johnson has knocked out 16 opponents. Twelve of those knockouts happened in the very first round. Four of Johnson’s last five wins have come  via first round knockout. Known for his punching power and explosiveness, Anthony Johnson loves to brawl like a fish loves water. He’s not known as Rumble for nothing. As for DC, Cormier is known to have a granite chin but it’s still unlikely that he will take his chances in a rumble with Anthony Johnson.