Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier have had a storied rivalry that seemed to have the final chapter written for it, at UFC 214, when Jones made his long awaited return to the octagon. Jones had defeated Cormier in their first encounter at UFC 182 in January of 2015, but a long list of personal and professional issues kept postponing their scheduled rematch.
At UFC 214, Cormier lost the UFC light heavyweight title to Jon Jones by knockout, but once again Jon’s troubles would resurface as he was flagged by UFC drug testers for steroids. It didn’t take long for the California State Athletic Commission to overturn the fight result to a “no contest,” which once again made Daniel Cormier the UFC light heavyweight champion.
Now a few weeks removed from the initial news of Jones’ new situation with USADA, Cormier is finally starting to look at the contenders in the UFC’s 205lb division to figure out who’s going to be next in line for a title shot.
“Oezdemir has looked phenomenal in this run. He beat Ovince Saint-Preux the he knocked out [Misha] Cirkunov and knocked out Jimi Manuwa, who was scheduled as a replacement for me and Jones,” Cormier said while doing the post fight show for UFC Fight Night Pittsburgh. “Gustafsson has always been tough. Gustafsson gave me a very tough time the first time but you have to remember for as good as Gustafsson looked in the [Glover] Teixeira fight when he fought Jan Blachowicz, he did not look that good. So if you’re telling me there’s a chance he fights like he fought against Jan Blachowicz, give me Gustafsson.”
The champ is still letting things settle in though, but did say he’d be up for an easy fight like UFC middleweight champion Michael “The Count” Bisping.
“Get my feet back under me, something kind of easy — give me Bisping. Give me Bisping!” Cormier said laughing and smiling at the Fox desk.
“I’m trying to do some easy work. Give me Bisping.”
