Daniel Cormier surprisingly picks former foe Jon Jones in NFL style draft pick of undisputed UFC champions
Daniel Cormier shocked his co-host Ryan Clark as he picked his former foe Jon Jones in their NFL-style draft of undisputed UFC champions.
During a recent episode of ESPN's DC & RC, Cormier and Clark had some fun and put together an NFL style draft, which led to some surprising moments. The former Super Bowl champion kicked things off by selecting Alexander Volkanovski with the first overall selection.
"Pound-for-pound number-one fighter in the entire world, 'DC'. We watched him move up, face Islam Makhachev, it was a tough fight for five rounds, we've seen him dominate his division for years...I just think this guy is truly truly the epitome of what a champion is." [38:39 - 39:06]
After selecting middleweight champion Israel Adesanya second overall, 'DC' surprised Clark by selecting Jones at third overall. He explained his reasoning for selecting 'Bones' while thinking about the business side as well as the talent of the fighter, saying:
"You are talking about the heavyweight champion of the world. I don't care that him and I have history, I don't care that Jon Jones and I aren't friends, what I do care about though is the business and Jon Jones, once again, moves the needle, 'RC'. He sold pay-per-views and the gate at the T-Mobile Arena was massive." [40:31 - 40:52]
Cormier selecting Jones is logical, especially from a business sense in that his return at UFC 285 was a success from a financial perspective.
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Daniel Cormier advises Sergei Pavlovich to wait for a title shot
Daniel Cormier had advice for Sergei Pavlovich, who recently earned another impressive first-round finish.
During the aforementioned episode, 'DC' advised the surging heavyweight to remain in training and wait for a title shot. He mentioned that Pavlovich should serve as an alternate for the heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic if the opportunity presents itself.
"I would do that [serve as an alternate] because anything else now would be fighting backwards. Even fighting Stipe [Miocic] would be fighting backwards for Sergei Pavlovich and I don't know if right now he needs to do that." [9:33 - 9:45]