Daniel Cormier: The Fans Have Turned On Me
Daniel Cormier feels that mixed martial arts (MMA) fans’ hate for him is a lot similar the heat some of the disliked baby faces (good guys) in professional wrestling take.
Cormier is a huge pro wrestling fan and got the opportunity to speak to one of the greatest tag teams of all time, Edge and Christian, on their new podcast, Edge and Christian’ Podcast of Awesomeness.
During the appearance Cormier compared his position with the MMA fanbase to that of John Cena and Roman Reigns in the WWE (quotes via MMA Fighting):
“Lately I’ve been having to do a little more talking because the fans have, they’ve kind of turned on me – which is okay. I get it. It’s okay. But I kind of relate myself to Roman Reigns, John Cena, those types of guys. Guys that are supposed to be good guys but the fans just have something that they don’t like, something that doesn’t resonate with them. So I’ve kind of been having to talk a little bit more and it’s refreshing.”
Cormier comes off of a second round submission victory over Anthony Johnson at UFC 210 live on pay-per-view (PPV). It marked the former Olympian’s second consecutive light heavyweight title defense.
Now ‘DC’ is expected to defend his title against former 205-pound kingpin, and longtime hated rival, Jon Jones upon his return from suspension. The pair were initially set to rematch at UFC 200 back in July, a rematch from their original meeting at UFC 182 which Jones won via unanimous decision, but ‘Bones’ was removed after being flagged for a United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) violation.
Jones has been involved in a bit of not-so-favorable activities outside the Octagon, including cocaine use, a hit-and-run in which he injured a pregnant woman, and the USADA violation that cost UFC 200 its main event. Despite all this, fans continue to cheer Jones and boo Cormier, and the American Kickboxing Academy product thinks it’s because they can relate to Jones more:
“People don’t want to be told, ‘I’m good so you should cheer for me.’ Jon Jones is a guy that has made a lot of mistakes, so maybe people relate to him more. They go, ‘Forget this Daniel Cormier goody two-shoes, him and his kids and his family. I want the guy that does coke and parties and crashes cars. That’s the guy I want.’
“Maybe I’m not cool enough because I go to work, I fight, when I’m not fighting I go back and I go to my kids’ soccer and baseball games. That’s what I do. I go to wrestling. I’m not out partying. I’m not out doing all kinds of crazy stuff. Maybe I’m just too boring but I’m fine with it. I like my life.”
With rumors circulating that the pair could possibly rematch at UFC 214 on PPV this July in Anaheim, California, Cormier is just hoping the fight actually happens this time:
“It sounds good. Jon and I have been scheduled to fight five times and we’ve fought once. I hope that everything gets done and we get to fight in Anaheim because he’s my white whale. He’s that guy I have to go chase down, I have to get it done. So me and my legacy, for my sanity, for me as a competitor, I have to stand across the octagon from Jon Jones again and win this time.”
