Daniel Cormier: Bader Hasn’t Beaten Anybody

ByMichael Henken
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The last time we saw former Olympic wrestler Daniel “DC” Cormier in action he suffered an upsetting 5-round decision loss to former champion Jon “Bones” Jones at UFC 183 in one of the biggest events of the year after months and months of bad blood fueled hype.

Cormier had his next fight set, and was looking to bounce back as he was scheduled to meet No. 5-ranked Ryan Bader next month in New Orleans, but then, the light heavyweight division was flipped upside down with stunning news.

By now everyone knows the story, as former dominant champion and pound-for-pound king Jones was arrested on felony charges for allegedly fleeing the scene of an accident in which he blew a red light and hit a pregnant lady. There were drugs involved and things got very bad very quickly for “Bones”. The UFC quickly took action, stripping Jones of his title and suspending him indefinitely.

Jones was scheduled to defend his title for a record-setting time at this Saturday’s (May 23, 2015) UFC 187 against surging knockout artist Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. With “Bones” being stripped and suspended, this left “Rumble” without an opponent and the 205-pound title vacant.

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So who would step in to meet Johnson on short notice and challenge for the vacant belt? There weren’t many options. Former title challenger Alexander Gustafsson was just knocked out by Johnson last January, and No. 4-ranked Rashad Evans is injured. That basically left either Cormier or Bader.

Originally, “DC” decided that he would just wait and see what happens, speaking on the situation with MMAFighting.com:

“I was waiting, because this thing with Jon happened on a Sunday,” Cormier said Monday. “Two days is a long time to wait. And initially I was like okay, we’ll see what happens.”

Bader did not take the same approach, however, quickly taking to twitter to express his interest in fighting for the belt, letting Dana White and the UFC know that he was ready. Cormier wasn’t too fond of this, saying that Bader hasn’t beaten anyone, and he shouldn’t try to cut the line:

“Ryan Bader started putting stuff on the internet, and it was like, what the hell’s wrong with you?” Cormier said. “You’re trying to cut to the front of the line. It’s not like he beat anybody.”

Cormier then took some action of his own, calling the UFC, and of course we now know that “DC” will get his second title shot this upcoming weekend:

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“I tried calling them, and I said, hey, why not give me the chance?” Cormier said. “If anyone deserves the shot, it’s me.”

The words between Cormier and Bader doesn’t stop here, however, as it seems Bader has caught wind of “DC’s” remarks and responded via twitter today (May 20, 2015):

The Olympian responded once again, saying that he has a title shot to focus on and when he wins the belt, he’ll gladly give the former Arizona State wrestler a title shot:

“Darth” once again came back strong, accusing Cormier of pulling of their apparently two scheduled bouts, adding that if “Rumble” doesn’t beat Cormier, Bader will:

It seems as if there is definitely a rivalry brewing. Is this the attention Ryan Bader needs for fans to finally want to watch him?

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Sports media and journalism student watching from the East Coast. I'm a young writer with a passion for mixed martial arts looking to make my mark as a journalist. Email: Henken@susqu.edu

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