Kevin Foote

kfoote@theadvertiser.com

Former Northside High three-time state championship wrestler Daniel Cormier wants to get a few things straight about his now-infamous brawl with Jon Jones.

One, it wasn't staged.

Two, it wasn't staged because the two fighters genuinely don't like each other.

Three, it's something he regrets and vows will never happen again.

And yet, four, he's seen what it's done for the anticipation of his Jan. 3 showdown with Jones (20-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC).

"It gone from a big fight for UFC fans to a must-see event for people in all walks of life," Cormier said.

Originally, the former NCAA All-American and Olympic wrestler was supposed to have fought Jones in the biggest UFC fight of his career this past weekend in Las Vegas.

Instead, he was in Lafayette at the old St. Paul's church he grew up in participating in the baptism of his daughter, Marquita, and son, Daniel.

And then he joined some local friends in watching another former Northside High wrestler Dustin Poirier take part in the UFC 178 card that didn't include Cormier because of a leg injury to opponent Jon Jones.

As a result, the highly anticipated bout between Cormier and Jones will now headline the UFC 182 card scheduled at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

While Cormier didn't like the result of Poirier's bout on Saturday – losing to Ireland's Conor McGregor in the first round – he is now totally focused on his Jan. 3 encounter with Jones.

Cormier's amazed at how incredibly big the fight has become.

On July 23, it was announced the Cormier would fight Jones. The first week in August, the two brawled in a pre-fight press conference. Then a week later, it was announced that Jones suffered a leg injury while training and the bout was pushed back to Jan. 3.

"It was crazy," Cormier said when asked about the aftermath of the press conference brawl with Jones.

"It happened because Jon and I really haven't seen eye to eye for a very long time. We just don't like each other. I don't like him professionally and I don't like him personally. It's real. I just think that it was a result of all of that emotion coming to a head."

At the same time, Cormier maintains that such behavior – real or staged – can't become the norm for the good of the sport.

"It won't happen again," Cormier said. "There were some good things that came out of it (publicity-wise), but that wasn't without some bad consequences as well. We both had to meet with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. We got fined and got community service. We both paid a price for it too."

Cormier received a fine of $9,000 and 20 hours of community service, while Jones got a $50,000 fine and 40 hours of community service after it was ruled that the current light heavyweight champion instigated the start of the brawl.

Cormier also hopes that fans unfamiliar with him or new to MMA don't develop the wrong impression of him.

"That was not a good first impression," he said. "I hope that anyone who didn't know me before would do some research and find out that's not how I've carried myself throughout my athletic career. That's not what I'm about."

In fact, in many ways, it was an emotion and a reaction quite new to Cormier, who is 15-0 in MMA overall and 4-0 in UFC.

"Wrestling is very different," Cormier said. "A wrestling match is a wrestling match. MMA is different. You're going in there to fight. Your whole life, you've been told not to fight. In MMA, that's what you do. You go in there and actually do it."

The increased hype the brawl created for the bout is just one angle in Cormier's mind. The Jones injury and delay to Jan. 3 will allow Cormier to better train for the fight.

Before his longtime friend and heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez wasn't going to be available to assist in his training. The two live and often train together in San Jose, Calif.

Cormier said he's also been working with current No. 7 light heavyweight contender Phil Davis and "that's gotten a lot harder. I got tired."

"The first fight was kind of short notice," Cormier added. "This way, it's going to give me three and half to four months of training to get more prepared for the fight."

Cormier also understands that Jones is "starting to get healthy. It's got to be pretty close by now."

If Cormier wins, he said he would plan to fight Jones again. If he loses, he would continue to press on for at least three years, if healthy, to try to get back to that level.

Not knowing what factor the injury will play in the fight, Cormier said attacking an opponent's injury has never been his approach.

"I've never done it," he said, "but by that same token, the key is to beat your opponent. So when I had a knee injury, I kind of expected guys to execute moves that would make me use my knee more and take shots at my knee."

Cormier said "it's always great to be back home" in describing his trip to Lafayette this past weekend, and that he's got great pride in all the MMA representative from Cajun Country with Poirier, Tim Credeur, Aaron Phillips and Liz Carmouche.

"It's unbelievable," he said. "Lafayette's not that big of a city. We've got some scrappers from Lafayette. It's great to see."