Light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier ’s coach said recently that ‘DC’ is already one of the best if he beats heavyweight titleholder Stipe Miocic at UFC 226 on July 7 no doubt Cormier will establish himself one of the greatest of all time. Moreover, he becomes only the second fighter in UFC history to hold two belts in different weight classes simultaneously.
Cormier looking to add another win to his resume this weekend believes PED cheats like Jon Jones and Anderson Silva, shouldn’t be rank among some of the greatest of all time, both failed multiple drug tests over the years.
Last week, former champion Jon Jones slammed Cormier on social media after seeing a video of him responding to a question about potentially being the GOAT with a win over Miocic at UFC 226. Cormier responded by suggesting Jones accomplishments are as tainted as Lance Armstrong’s. (Via MMAWeekly)
“Any time a guy does performance-enhancing drugs and on multiple occasions, they eliminate themselves,” Cormier said during a UFC 226 media conference call. “So for as great as Anderson Silva was, he tested positive I think two times. Jones has tested positive two or three times. Those guys eliminate themselves.”
“When you start getting performance enhancers tied to your name, there’s no way around that. There’s no way around it, and I think that of all the sports, the people that pay the harshest price are the baseball players. Because when you have negatives tied to your name, they deny you the ultimate vindication. The ultimate goal of a baseball player is to go to the Hall of Fame and these guys aren’t even getting close.
“The Mark McGwires, the Sammy Sosas, the Barry Bondses, those guys aren’t getting close because they have those bad things tied to their names. As a sport, I think MMA needs to evolve to the point that the punishment for having doing those things is your place within the sport should be challenged and should be questioned.”
Jones who bested Cormier twice, but his most recent win at UFC 214 was overturned to no-contest when Jones tested positive for turinabol. Jones is now facing a lengthy suspension from USADA. Jon was removed from UFC rankings, and Cormier was reinstated as light heavyweight champion.
This time Cormier added Anderson Silva’s name as well, because ‘The Spider’ tested positive for steroids back in 2015 and suspended for one year. Now Silva looking at a possible four-year suspension after testing positive for synthetic steroids in 2017.
Speaking of his upcoming super fight with Miocic, Cormier is confident that he’ll surpass the rankings with a win over the heavyweight champion.
”I should be in the conversation,” Cormier said. “I want to be mentioned among the greats. The Georges St-Pierres and the Demetrious Johnson, the guys that have done things the correct way over the course of their entire careers without that asterisk.”
Who do you think between Miocic vs. Cormier will come out on top at UFC 226?
