UFC 200: Why Daniel Cormier thinks Jon Jones rematch will be different

LAS VEGAS – The physical demands of being a professional fighter are obvious. In addition to being kicked, punched and slammed to the ground just about every day in order to prepare for a fight, there is also the relentless conditioning that takes a toll.

MMA fighters are among the most well-conditioned athletes in the world, and they push themselves in ways most of us could never imagine.

But that is only half of it, and it may be the easy half for a lot of fighters.

Preparing for a fight, particularly an important match against an arch-rival, is extraordinarily taxing emotionally, as well.

When things don’t go as planned in the cage, as they did not for Daniel Cormier against Jon Jones last year at UFC 182, it can seem like the world is collapsing around them.

Cormier was physically beaten but emotionally devastated by Jones last year in their light heavyweight title bout. After the match, he needed a pat on the back, someone to console him.

Bob Cook, his manager and one of his closest friends, was there for him. But Cook didn’t have a kind, gentle word or just offer a shoulder for Cormier to cry on.

No, Cook, a one-time MMA fighter himself, told Cormier exactly what he felt on the way he performed against Jones.

“I was so, so sad after the fight,” Cormier told Yahoo Sports. “Bob Cook is a guy who has invested a tremendous amount of time in me. I lived in his house, drove his car for a year-and-a-half as I was trying to become a mixed martial artist. He’s the closest thing I have to a mentor and a guide in this sport. I don’t know if you’ve ever had the job of trying to console someone in a very tough moment. People will pat you on the back and say, ‘Hey, DC, great fight.’ They’ll put an arm around your shoulder and just listen.

“Bob didn’t do that. He didn’t let me get patted on the back. He walked right up to me and stopped me in the hallway [as I was going to the locker room]. He said to me, ‘Daniel, normally I get a better fighter in the Octagon than I do in the gym. Today I did not.’ He said, ‘You lost and he beat you, but that’s OK. The problem is, you didn’t even fight. That wasn’t even close to the best Daniel Cormier.’ ”

The words stung, but they are words Cormier frequently recalls as the days wind down and his rematch with Jones nears. Cormier subsequently won the UFC light heavyweight title when Jones was stripped of his belt not long after UFC 182.

They’ll now meet on July 9 at T-Mobile Arena in the main event of UFC 200. Based upon the first fight, Cormier has a lot of ground to cover, and oddsmakers have made Jones about a 3-to-1 favorite.

Cormier, though, is optimistic that the result will be different this time around. Cook’s words to him that night resonated and gave him the perspective he needed to try to fix the mistakes he made and cover the ground that needs to be covered in order to retain his title.

“It stung to hear that from a man who has done so much for me,” Cormier said. “I let him down. If I’d have given 110 percent, he’d have told me that I gave 110 percent. But he told me I didn’t give 110 percent. Those words at that moment, while I was at my moment, meant a lot. He didn’t sugarcoat anything.

“He made a very important point. It was like, yeah you lost, but you don’t need to fight like you’re eating at the best place at the Ritz Carlton. Just fight like you’re eating at the Outback Steakhouse and you’ll beat this guy.”

Cormier, a two-time Olympic wrestler and the captain of the 2008 U.S. Olympic wrestling team, thought long and hard about Cook’s words in the aftermath of the defeat.

Cormier had a great emotional investment in the bout, as he disliked Jones intensely and what he stood for. The men had brawled in the lobby of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas following a news conference, and were later disciplined by the Nevada Athletic Commission.

They had an embarrassing media tour, at one point cursing at each other while at ESPN when realizing their microphones were hot. Several times during fight week, they and their teams nearly came to blows as they encountered each other in the hotel.

So it was hard simply to put the loss behind him. Cook’s words started him down that path, and it made a lot of sense to him as he thought of it.

“You know, there were guys I lost to in wrestling, Cael Sanderson, Khadzimurat Gatsalov, those types of guys, there were times I wrestled as well as I could and I couldn’t win,” Cormier said. “The simple fact was that those guys were better. It’s not like they were better in one thing; they were better in everything. They were just better than me and if I fought my best and they fought their best, they were going to win. But I don’t feel the same way about Jon.

“This guy is not unbeatable. He’s not. He’s a talented fighter and he’s got a great record, but he’s not unbeatable. Look: If I go to UFC 200 and I fight as well as I can and he still wins, I’ll say Jon’s better. But I don’t feel I need to fight a perfect fight. I don’t have to do that. But the last time, I didn’t fight very well at all, fought just in spurts, and we went five rounds. I understand how it went the first time, but I honestly believe that this is not an insurmountable task for me. It’s not. And I’ll be honest with you: I don’t think I’m going to win. I know I am. I know now that I don’t have to be perfect to win, and that’s a huge difference from the last time.”