Daniel Cormier made it clear after his win over Dion Staring Saturday night that he is coming for Jon Jones.
Cormier beat Staring in Oklahoma City by second-round TKO, absolutely demolishing his opponent with an array of punches. The fight was part of Strikeforce’s final card as the promotion plans to close operations.
Cormier announced after his win that he has signed a contract to fight in the UFC. He is scheduled to fight Frank Mir first, and then he wants Jones.
“Right now I’m telling you: April 20 on FOX — I signed my UFC contract — Frank Mir, you and me, let’s do it.”
When asked whether he would drop from heavyweight to light heavyweight to face Jones, he seemed game.
“I’m going to let Jon defend his belt April 27 and then I’m going to kick his ass in the fall,” said Cormier.
Cormier currently fights as a heavyweight, so he would likely have to cut somewhere between 20-30 pounds to prepare for Jones. Or, he could wait and see if Jones comes up in weight, which is something the UFC champion has discussed doing.
Cormier is 11-0 and recorded impressive wins over Big Foot Silva and Josh Barnett in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. His punching ability and rich wrestling background will make him a dangerous contender when he joins the UFC. I’d prefer for him to wait for Jones to move up to heavyweight rather than drop down. We also should not overlook his fight with Mir who, despite coming off a loss to Junior dos Santos, is very dangerous.
