“DC” first met Anthony Johnson inside the octagon at UFC 187. The light heavyweight champion managed to land a submission victory in the third round, but was rocked early on by his KO artist opponent. Cormier isn’t entirely satisfied with his performance at UFC 187 and is looking to put together an impressive display at UFC 210 next weekend.
Daniel Cormier is set to defend his belt from Anthony “Rumble” Johnson next weekend at UFC 210. This will make for the fighters’ second match against one another. With each warrior currently riding a three fight win streak, the title fight rematch main event is certain to b an entertaining one.
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Cormier reflected on their previous match-up and explained what he wants to change the second time around.
“He did well. He defended some takedowns. He actually landed a lot of high kicks. He landed a lot of punches. People just remember that big punch that knocked me down, but Anthony had a lot of success in that fight. So we need to make sure that he doesn’t even have that amount of success.
“I don’t feel like I pressured him enough in that fight. I let him get far too comfortable. So, you’re going to see some differences in my approach to this one. This time, I’m actually going to beat him much worse than I did last time. If the first fight was a pretty good performance, this fight is going to be a great performance.”
Cormier went on to mention that he is facing no fear come next Saturday.
“I am not afraid of that man in any way, shape or form. If I had to fight Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson at a barbecue or at a bar, I would fight him at a barbecue or at a bar. It doesn’t matter. I will always fight him. And that’s why I think you should just go after him. Some guys – Ryan Bader was scared of him; he shot him halfway across the octagon.
“You’ll never see me do that. I’m going to find the correct side if I’m going to get a takedown. I’m not scared of him, man. I think that’s part of it: Part of it is just not being afraid. So, no. To answer your question (whether there’s anything scary about Johnson), not at all. Not one bit. I know that if this guy fought Cain Velasquez, I don’t even know if he’d last a round. And I fight Cain Velasquez almost every day.”
UFC 210 goes down April 8 inside the Buffalo, New York KeyBank Center.
