Daniel Cormier on UFC 304: ‘We’ll Find Out If Paddy Pimblett is For Real’

The two-division champion and Hall of Famer discusses UFC 304

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Daniel Cormier on UFC 304: “We’ll find out if Paddy Pimblett is for real”

Paddy Pimblett enters the last fight of his current contract at UFC 304, where he will step into the cage against the toughest opponent of his career in King Green.

Green, who legally had his name changed from Bobby to King, has the pedigree and legitimacy that Pimblett (21-3) is seeking. Green (32-15-1, 1 NC) has fought practically all the top opponents at lightweight, including Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier, this would instantly be the most significant win of Pimblett’s career.

Former UFC two-division champion Daniel Cormier will be calling the fight in Manchester, England beside Jon Anik and Michael Bisping, and he believes this is a make-or-break moment for Pimblett.

“This is the test,” said Cormier. “This is it. We find out this weekend if Paddy Pimblett is for real, or we see if it’s all been a show.”

Cormier, who is a UFC Hall of Famer, brings an insight to the fights that is a combination of excitement and intelligence. The tone and tenor of his voice exhibit his genuine love for mixed martial arts, which makes Cormier a wonderful ambassador for the sport. But as much as he loved competing and respects those in the cage, Cormier knows his main responsibility is to those listening to his calls.

“My responsibility is to the audience,” said Cormier. “Fighters know I’ve been through it, so for the most part, they can accept criticism. You do have fighters that are sensitive. But I’m never saying anything with malicious intent.

“Fairly recently, I was critical of Trey Ogden. I said that based off his fights, it looked like he was never going to reach that elite level. Trey fought this past Saturday, and when we spoke, he told me that my words personally. He told me that he hated hearing it, but that it motivated him. That’s a good thing, and I can do that because of my history in the sport.”

Whether on headset or interviewing fighters in the cage, which he is doing here with Matt Brown, the commentary role has allowed Daniel Cormier to thrive after his fighting career came to an end / Zuffa LLC

Cormier never intended to sit cageside and wear a headset. If anything, he looked down on the idea. But then he tried it–and fell in love with the ability to share the moment with people around the globe.

“It’s true, it took some convincing to even start this career,” said Cormier. “It wasn’t something I was looking to do. It started way back in 2011 and 2012, and there’s two guys that I owe a lot of my television career to–that’s Kieran Portley, who is at CBS in Florida now but was at ESPN at the time, and Zach Candido, our coordinating producer at the UFC. They saw something in me. Since then, it’s reps and reps to get better. And it’s so fun. I never thought I’d enjoy it this much. We have two title fights on Saturday. I’ve been in the cage for those–and I can’t wait to see them.”

In addition to a co-main event of Tom Aspinall defending the interim heavyweight title against Curtis Blaydes, the headline bout is welterweight champ Leon Edwards in a rematch against Belal Muhammad. Their fight ended prematurely three years ago, when Edward–who dominated the opening round–accidentally poked Muhammad in the eye, ending the bout only 18 seconds into the second round.

It is also a battle of streaks. Muhammad (23-3, 1 NC) has won his last nine decisions. Not to be outdone, Edwards (22-3, 1 NC) has won his last 12.

“It’s going to be a great fight,” said Cormier. “Belal Muhammad has wanted this for so long that I think we’re going to see the best version of him, and Leon Edwards continues to improve and evolve. That Gilbert Burns fight, which he took on short notice, then put on a dominant performance, shows that Leon isn’t going to fight the same Belal he fought three years ago.”

Cormier joked about the travel time to Manchester (“I wish we didn’t have to travel 13 hours for it, but I can’t wait for it to start”), before expressing his enthusiasm for the fights to begin.

“I know the sacrifices these UFC fighters are making,” said Cormier. “It’s such a crazy journey. I have nothing but respect for them. I can’t wait for it to get started.”

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Could Jon Jones get his one loss removed?

Jon Jones’ record is almost perfect.

Could that actually become a reality?

Jones (27-1, 1 NC) suffered his lone loss in a bout against Matt Hamill in December of 2009. He was in complete control of the fight, peppering Hamill with strikes after a takedown. But Jones threw downward elbow strikes that caused him to be disqualified for the illegal 12-6 rule.

Jon Jones suffered his lone loss by DQ / Zuffa LLC

As of this November 1, the 12-6 rule will be removed. And that opens up the possibility that Jones’ loss could be turned into a no contest.

Jones and UFC CEO Dana White will undoubtedly be advocating for the loss to be removed, but that rule was in place when Jones was disqualified in 2009. That was the right call according to the rules at the time, and I just cannot envision we’ll see DQs start to be reversed.

Of course, Jones is next scheduled to fight in November at Madison Square Garden–and it would be quite the announcement if he could enter the bout as the undefeated UFC heavyweight champion.