Latest news with #FunkyandtheChamp
USA Today
28-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Daniel Cormier: Jon Jones' ego will lead to Tom Aspinall fight happening
Daniel Cormier: Jon Jones' ego will lead to Tom Aspinall fight happening Daniel Cormier thinks UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones will end up fighting Tom Aspinall. Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) is now the longest reigning interim champion in UFC history as his title unification bout with Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) still hasn't come to fruition. UFC CEO Dana White is "super confident" it materializes this year, but meaningful progress has remained slow. Cormier has had mixed feelings about the situation throughout this sage, and currently, he doubts Jones retires from competition before fighting Aspinall. "I don't know that he vacates without fighting him because I think the visual and the lasting thought would be that 'he ran from him,' and I don't know his ego could handle that he ran from someone," Cormier said on his "Funky and the Champ" show with Ben Askren. "The idea that people would think he is afraid means more to him than going out there and fighting him and taking the chance. "Especially when there's a real possibility that he just outclasses Tom Aspinall. You don't know. I think that he will fight him. I don't think they'll need to strip him, I think he'll fight him. He could walk away and go, 'I'm the best, I don't need to do anything else.' The idea that he ran is going to be too strong of a pull for him as he goes into the next phase of his career." Jones recently bragged about living his best life and is currently filming Season 2 of "ALF Reality," a Russian reality television show resembling "The Ultimate Fighter." He hasn't competed since defending his title in a TKO finish of Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 last November. Despite being hopeful that Jones ends up fighting Aspinall, Cormier thinks he may be fearing the potential outcome. "You know what I think a big worry might be for him? With Aspinall, he could potentially get knocked out," Cormier said. "Like legitimately knocked out and put on his back and out cold. I just don't know he wants to have that visual of him in the world. Because I've seen myself get beat, and I'm like, 'God, that's such a horrible visual every time.'"
Daily Mirror
28-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Jon Jones' biggest rival makes clear Tom Aspinall claim ahead of potential clash
With the blockbuster heavyweight showdown still yet to be confirmed, Jones' long-time rival Daniel Cormier has offered his verdict on the clash Jon Jones ' long-time rival, Daniel Cormier, predicts the heavyweight champion will square off against Tom Aspinall. After capturing the undisputed heavyweight crown with a victory over Ciryl Gane two years ago, 'Bones' has only defended the belt once - a knockout victory over MMA icon Stipe Miocic back in November. Many fans assumed 'Bones' would call it a day after the clash with the former champion. However, immediately after the encounter, the 37-year-old teased that he would stick around for at least one more fight. Aspinall's year has been marred by frustration, remaining out of action since his impressive triumph over Curtis Blaydes last July in Manchester, where he retained his interim title. Fans are calling for Jones to be stripped of his title, suspecting him of holding up the eagerly anticipated clash with Aspinall. UFC boss Dana White, though, insists an announcement will be made soon. Amidst Jones' recent retirement teases, Cormier believes the American's ego will ultimately lead to the matchup getting booked. During a recent episode of Funky and the Champ, Cormier assessed Jones' latest comments about a UFC return. 'I don't know that he vacates without fighting [Tom], because I think the visual, and the lasting thought would be that 'He ran from him', and I don't think his ego could handle that he ran from someone,' Cormier said of Jones Jones and Cormier have clashed twice, with Jones initially winning both bouts. However, their UFC 214 rematch was declared a no-contest after Jones failed a drug test. Discussing a potential fight between 'Bones' and Aspinall, Cormier expressed his belief that the match will happen. "The idea that people would think he's afraid means more to him than going out there and fighting him, and taking the chance," he remarked. "Especially when there's a real possibility that he just outclasses Tom Aspinall... I think he will fight him, I don't think they'll need to strip him, he'll fight him. He could walk away and go 'I'm the best, I don't need to do anything else'," Cormier added. "But the idea that he ran, is going to be too strong of a pull for him as he goes into the next phase of his career." With fans still wondering if the pair will settle the score once and for all, Aspinall himself seems to be confident that the contest will happen. Over the last few days, the Brit has been training in the Netherlands with kickboxing legend and his long-time sparring partner Rico Verhoeven. The kickboxer was eager to get Aspinall's thoughts on the potential dust-up with Jones. 'I think yeah, I think we'll get him," said the Wigan warrior. Aspinall then explained the struggles he has faced in knowing how to approach his pursuit of the fight. 'He's an unpredictable guy,' he said of Jones. 'Everybody's got a different idea of what you should do. 'Some people are like 'oh you should just leave him and he'll fight you'. Then other people are like 'the more you talk s*** the less he wants to fight you'. I'm just like 'what is this?' We're supposed to be professional fighters, we fight each other, that's what we do. I thought that's what we do anyway.'
USA Today
04-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Daniel Cormier predicts Justin Gaethje gets UFC title shot vs. champ Islam Makhachev
Daniel Cormier sees Justin Gaethje sliding into the UFC title picture. Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) is gearing up for his next title defense after making quick work of short-notice replacement Renato Moicano at UFC 311 in January. Ilia Topuria says he was promised an immediate lightweight title shot after he vacated his featherweight title, but there's been pushback from Makhachev's team. That's why Cormier thinks Gaethje (26-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) will end up getting the title shot. 'I honestly believe that's who is going to fight for the belt, I believe it's going to be Justin Gaethje,' Cormier said on his 'Funky and the Champ' show with Ben Askren. 'If I'm team Makhachev, I'm asking for Justin Gaethje because that's a big-name fight, it's the guy that carries a lot of name recognition. I think that's going to be the fight if I'm being honest with you.' Ben Askren finds it hard to make a case for Gaethje, who was knocked out by ex-featherweight champ Max Holloway at UFC 300, but rebounded with a decision win over Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313. 'He lost to Holloway, and Topuria just put down Holloway in very impressive fashion,' Askren said of Gaethje. 'I don't even think it's a hard argument. I think Topuria is by far the most compelling person.' Cormier's argument for Makhachev is that two of his four title defenses came over former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, and how he doesn't want to go down that road again. Askren explained why he doesn't see Cormier's argument as valid. 'Those two featherweights, Holloway has the very, very recent win against Justin Gaethje at lightweight, at which they competed at lightweight, right?' Askren said. 'And then Volkanovski had the very competitive bout with Islam Makhachev. 'So you have both of those guys also competing at lightweight and having relatively good results.'
USA Today
04-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Ben Askren: UFC should strip Islam Makhachev if he refuses Ilia Topuria fight
Ben Askren wants to see UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev face consequences if he turns down Ilia Topuria. Topuria (15-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) claimed that the UFC promised him an immediate title shot at lightweight after he vacated his featherweight title. However, with Makhachev and his team needing Topuria to earn his shot by beating a No. 1 contender, many are questioning if the fight happens. Askren thinks the UFC should force Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) to face Topuria. 'I think Dana (White) should just do Dana stuff and just say, 'Hey, Islam, if you don't want to fight, you're stripped,'' Askren said on his 'Funky and the Champ' show with Daniel Cormier. 'He's done that. That is in Dana's repertoire. If you're the champion, you're supposed to defend the belt against the best person, right? So Ilia has beaten two legends in a row. 'Not only beat them but finished them at 145 pounds: Volkanovski and Holloway. Very, very clearly the best, choosing to go up. … Given Arman was supposed to have the title shot, and he pulled out on super-late notice so they want to make him fight someone else first. So, that makes perfect sense for Ilia to pop in given the fact that he's a champion, he's undefeated, has defeated two legends in a row. I don't see how you deny him the title shot.' Askren says Topuria is the most compelling fight for Makhachev, and doesn't understand the pushback. Daniel Cormier explained where the pushback comes from. 'After he knocked him out, all the talk was about, well, you just knocked out a featherweight, it doesn't lend itself to much,' Cormier said. 'I believe that's the pushback, that even if you beat Topuria who has looked so dominant and so unbeatable, people are still going to say, well, you just beat a featherweight.' Askren thinks White usually gets his way. 'Having someone who is like a tyrant or a dictator at the top, able to force issues, is kind of helpful because it doesn't take a genius to realize that if Topuria is vacating and moving, he's the second best, and Makhachev is the first best,' Askren said. 'You make them fight, right? And so if No. 1, Makhachev, doesn't want to fight, you say, 'Hey dude, you got to fight,' and if he says, 'No, screw off,' it's like OK, we're going to take your belt and we're going to put Topuria against someone else.'
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Daniel Cormier hopes for better ending to Conor McGregor's UFC career
If Conor McGregor never fights again, Daniel Cormier thinks his lasting UFC memory is an unfortunate one. It's been almost four years since McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) last fought when he broke his leg in a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021. McGregor has planned his return on numerous occasions and was even booked to fight Michael Chandler last June at UFC 303 before withdrawing due to a broken pinky toe. There has been no word on McGregor fighting since then, which has many speculating if he'll ever return. If "The Notorious" is indeed done, Cormier says his final moment in the octagon could overshadow the remarkable career that shot him to superstardom. "For me, it's kind of sad because of this: It's like, when a guy comes, and he's that successful, and he's that good, you hope that the last time you see him in the octagon is him fighting – even if it's him losing," Cormier said on his "Funky and the Champ" show with Ben Askren. "You don't want the last memory is him sitting in the octagon with a broken leg, yelling at Dustin Poirier's wife. It was the craziest vision I've ever seen. It felt like when he got here, everything was fresh, new, and it felt genuine. Then he went to nice Conor when him and Dustin fought in Abu Dhabi. Nice Conor was more preposterous than him doing what he did after the fight with Dustin the (third) time. "Because he was holding Dustin's liquor, they were hugging each other. It was the most odd thing I'd ever seen because that was not what we had come to expect from Conor McGregor. He gets beat by Dustin Poirier, then he goes all the way back to the other guy, but even more to the right. He was more loud, he was more obnoxious, he was nasty, talking about Dustin's wife and all these things. He was more nasty, so even that felt forced. Then when he broke his leg, he was sitting on the ground yelling and screaming. It was almost like he was a rich guy who didn't get his way, and there is nothing he could do about it, and he was acting out because of it. That's like a sad visual for me after all that he became to the sport of mixed martial arts." McGregor has kept busy outside of the octagon as part owner of BKFC and most recently diving into Irish politics. The former UFC two-division met with with President Donald Trump at the White House on St. Patrick's Day "to raise the issues the people of Ireland face." Charles Oliveira: UFC fans 'should forget about Conor McGregor coming back' Photos: Conor McGregor at the White House Dustin Poirier gives thoughts on Conor McGregor's return, says UFC star is 'addicted to the limelight' Michael Chandler changes tune on Conor McGregor's UFC comeback – to some degree This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Daniel Cormier hopes for better ending to Conor McGregor's UFC career
