Daniel Cormier says injured knee 'feels fine'
UFC light heavyweight contender Daniel Cormier is missing half of one ACL in a knee, and partially tore his LCL as well. Because of this, just weeks ago he had planned to undergo surgery this month to repair the injuries.
When Alexander Gustafsson tore his meniscus and pulled out of his Sep. 27 title challenge rematch against champ Jon Jones this week, Cormier decided to jump in as a substitute. According to an interview "DC" gave to MMA Junkie this week, he came thisclose to getting the surgery but "thankfully" missed a doctor's appointment last week and so never got the last recommendation to do so.
Cormier, now a televisino analyst for FOX in addition to his fighting, said that he missed an appointment to see his doctor last Wednesday in order to be in Los Angeles to cover the Donald Cerrone vs. Jim Miller fight. The fighter claimed that he was going to ask the doctor if he could skip surgery anyway, because his LCL had begun to heal and his knee felt back to normal.
"Thank goodness I didn't go into that doctor's appointment because I didn't want to have the surgery but what if he would have advised me to? Just because, you know, doctors always kind of like to play it safe," Cormier said."
The two-time Olympian went on to assure that his knee feels fine and that he'll be ready to go against Jones - perhaps the most dominant fighter in UFC history - and on short notice.
"I feel fine, boys," Cormier claimed.
"I realize now that my LCL was what was bothering me. And the only thing you can do for that is time. Well, with time, it has healed and now my knee feels completely strong, man. I sparred yesterday. I did Jiu Jitsu yesterday, I ran and I feel fine. I'm pretty sore, though, I'll be honest with you. Too much time behind the desk and not enough time in the gym."
Even if Cormier does not, in fact, "feel fine" he likely found it impossible to pass up the chance at a world title. He'd earned one at heavyweight but the champion is his friend and training partner Cain Velasquez, so the wrestler decided to drop down to light heavyweight.
Now, Cormier will get to fight not just a long-time rival of his in "Bones," but have a chance at achieving a dream of being the best in the world. "Realistically, you have two undefeated guys fighting for the title. It doesn't get bigger than that," Cormier said of himself and Jones, whose only official loss was a controversial disqualification one against Matt Hamill.
"He's undefeated in my eyes. He's the greatest fighter in the world. I'm excited to test myself against the dude. this is the fight that I've been waiting for. This is the moment that I've been waiting for."
Do you think Cormier is rushing his recovery to fight Jones? Let us know in the comments section.
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