Daniel Cormier Thinks Alexander Gustafsson Is Overrated
Daniel Cormier will be defending his UFC light heavyweight championship this Saturday at UFC 192 against Alexander Gustafsson and as usual, he was talkative during the UFC 192 media call.
Cormier does feel Gustafsson is overrated due to him receiving a title shot coming off a knockout loss to Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, who Cormier finished at UFC 187 to become the champion.
“I know Rashad (Evans), he wanted to fight Gustafsson. (Ryan) Bader, he wanted to fight Gustafsson. It’s what I said, Gustafsson’s biggest claim to fame is that on his best day, he almost beat Jon Jones. His biggest win is Shogun Rua. A lot of the guys think Gustafsson is a myth that UFC created from the Jon Jones fight and that the fans believe it.”
Cormier made it clear that while he thinks Gustafsson is overrated, he still considers him a threat.
But he does concede that Gustafsson is a threat.
“He’s improved greatly in his wrestling; he’s got good striking and excellent footwork,” he said. “Plus, he’s going to be much better coming off a loss.”
With him having pressure going into his fight with Jon Jones and losing, some speculate that Cormier will not perform at his level as he has done in the past. Cormier feels that even though this will be his first ever title defense, he feels less pressure going into this fight.
“There’s less pressure than ever before,” he said. “I put so much pressure on myself with Jon Jones. It was so big of an event. It was two undefeated guys going for the championship. Then, with Rumble Johnson, I thought before that fight that if I lost, I may never get another title shot. But now, I’m happy. I’m nervous, but I’m always nervous before competition.”
When asked about a potential retirement looming due to his age, Cormier admitted that he’s looking forward to it.
“I’m 36, I’ll be 37 in March. I don’t think about retirement. I like doing this for the older guys. I have a job after this as an announcer. I can wear an expensive suit and eat. I can spend more time with my family. I won’t have to wake up at 6:30 a.m. and drive 30 minutes to lift weights. I won’t have to cut weight. If I start thinking about it, life after fighting isn’t that bad, but I still love to compete.”
