UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier met this past week with the UFC to discuss his future with the promotion and emerged with a new eight-fight contract that’s made him “very, very happy.”

“The appreciation for what I’ve done so far in my career in the UFC, it showed,” he today told MMAjunkie Radio.

Cormier said he had four fights remaining on a previous deal before his meeting and added there wasn’t much in the way of negotiating the new one. Thankfully, that was because he got what he wanted (though, of course, he declined to say what that was).

“I didn’t really have to play the game,” he said. “They were very fair to me. I just had to be myself and be honest.

“I was like, ‘This is what I feel like we deserve as a guy that’s done everything he’s supposed to and carried himself like a professional athlete should carry himself,’ and they said, ‘You know what, you’re right,’ and they pretty much just gave it to me, which is awesome.”

With eight more bouts, Cormier is confident he’ll finish his career in the UFC’s octagon, though he’s not entirely certain he’ll finish out his contract.

“I’m 36 years old,” he said. “I don’t even know if I can get through eight fights, but it’s a new eight-fight contract.”

After a grueling schedule of fighting three title fights in 2015, Cormier (17-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) plans to take a break through the holidays to recover. He does, however, have two of his obligations already signed away in his mind, the first being a rematch with Jon Jones, to whom he lost in January and then won the title left vacant when Jones (21-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) was stripped of his belt in April after a hit-and-run. Then there’s a meeting with rival Ryan Bader (20-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC), whom he said “deserves” a shot at the title.

As soon as Jones was cleared of jail time in September, however, a date with Cormier took the spotlight. Now, the question is where and when it takes place. And according to Cormier, his meeting with the UFC did not produce that information.

“We talked about it, and I told them where I stood,” he said. “They were very good about it and they were open and they listened to everything I had to say. We talked about it a little bit. They said they were going to let me get through the holidays and see how I felt at the end of the year.”

At issue is that Cormier’s stance that he doesn’t want to fight Jones at a planned April pay-per-view event in New York City’s Madison Square Garden. While the current champ doesn’t seem completely opposed to the idea, he said he is “steadfast” in his opinion that giving Jones a fight in his home state sends the wrong message.

“I don’t want to do it,” he said. “I don’t think he should be rewarded after coming off of what he came off of. I do look at it and say New York fans are some of the most vocal fans in the world, so what if I have a whole bunch of people who are against what Jon did? Maybe it could work different, because there’s no place in the country where, if you’re considered a bad guy, they will boo you louder and let you know more than New York City. But the chances of that happening are slim, because he’s from New York.”

Cormier said an April timeline works for a potential fight, as does Memorial Day weekend or even UFC 200 in Las Vegas. However, he acknowledged that a potential headliner at Madison Square Garden is a strong motivator.

“In terms of athletic career, a chance to main event a fight in the Garden, that’s amazing,” he said. “That’s an amazing opportunity, so we’ll revisit it after the holidays and see where I stand.”

Cormier needs no time to figure out where things stand with his former opponent, who this past week jabbed at him on Twitter, prompting another back and forth.

Yet Cormier said that for him, the nature of their relationship has changed since their first fight. He no longer brings the same level of emotion to interactions.

The two made headlines around the world when they spilled off a stage – throwing fists – at a news conference in support of their first fight. But things have since cooled down.

“It’s not like it was before,” Cormier said. “If you don’t learn your lesson from that type of instance like last time, you’ll never learn your lesson. So I learned my lesson.

“He doesn’t get to me as he used to. But obviously, there’s a little bit of a rivalry, but it’s not like it used to be. It drove me crazy before. It literally would drive me crazy, but now, it’s not like that.”

That means Cormier won’t seriously accept an invitation like the one he received online from Jones, who said they should meet up for a little competition at his longtime gym, Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA in Albuquerque, N.M., or on the mats of his alma mater at Oklahoma State University with Cormier’s former wrestling coach overseeing things.

Cormier then posted a picture of him at the gym, but it was in jest. Jones, of course, took that as an opportunity to bash him.

“In reality, if it did happen, it would have played out like this: I went, they wouldn’t let me in, and it was for the best,” Cormier said of a trip to New Mexico. “Part of it is building interest, and I think if anybody still has the issue, he does. And it’s crazy, because it seems like I bring out the worst in him.

“It’s good to have a rival, but you’ve got to win the next fight, because rivalries aren’t rivalries until you start splitting wins. I need to win the next fight.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.