Daniel Cormier came up short in his bid to dethrone Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion Jon Jones earlier this month at UFC 182 (watch full fight video highlights here).
The setback marked the first time "DC" tasted defeat in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career. And to make the situation worse, it came against his most bitter rival. But, a rematch with "Bones" could come sooner rather than later, as the former Olympian seems to think he found a potential shortcut to another title fight:
Alexander Gustafsson.
After "The Mauler" was knocked out by Anthony Johnson last weekend (Sat., Jan. 24, 2015) at UFC on FOX 14 (watch video replay here), a light bulb went off in the head of Cormier, who revealed on "The MMA Hour" that a fight -- and victory -- against the Swede could possibly earn him a "Bones" speed pass.
His words (via MMA Fighting):
"He's got the biggest name. We're both coming off of a loss. So, it would make sense. If that's the case, if they say Daniel, you and Alexander fight, and the winner will get a title shot against Anthony or Jon, then, yes."
Being the company man he is, Cormier has never been one to either ask for a fight or decline a challenge. Even if it means having to fight one of his buddies, which was the case when he was scheduled to face Rashad Evans last year.
So, if UFC comes asking him to face someone else, he'll gladly do that, too:
"I've never once picked a fight. UFC has always called me and said, ‘Daniel you're fighting this guy.' when I fought Jon for the belt, I had fought Patrick Cummins and Dan Henderson, but [Cummins] was supposed to be Rashad Evans, my first fight in the division was supposed to be Rashad Evans, so they always tell me. I never turn down a fight. If I was going to turn down any it would have been Rashad because we're buddies."
Having said that, "DC" won't settle for just any opponent, it has to be someone with name recognition who can get him one step closer to another crack the belt. But, at the end of the day, he believes defeating Gustafsson will be his "golden ticket" to the title.
"It needs to be guy with name recognition. So where the people say, ‘ok Daniel beat this guy, we need to see him either fight for the championship again, or he's very close. Because to me, Alexander and I, realistically, are two guys who could fight for the belt. Once you get past us, and Rashad, they're all rematches. past them who you going to put in the cage with Jon? Maybe the golden ticket is Gustafsson. Because if Rashad gets Gustafsson, maybe Rashad gets the title shot."
Evans was supposed to take on Glover Teixiera at UFC Fight Night 61 next month, but an injury to the heavy-handed Brazilian put the bout on the back burner. If UFC matchmakers opt to book Evans against Gustafsson next, as suggested by Cormier, well then that leaves Teixeira's dance card empty for "DC" to fill.
After all, Teixiera is still one of the best 205-pound fighters in the world. And he, too, failed to hand Jones his first true loss inside the Octagon.
Either way, "DC' has a few good options for his next outing inside the Octagon.
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