When you’re elite like Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier, not only are you training with the best in the world day in and day out, pushing yourself physically to a level that will eventually lead to workouts for NFL players, but the cerebral aspect of MMA is also embraced to a granular degree. Every flinch, every tell, and every tendency is poured over, studied and then drilled. Especially by coaches like Jones’ Greg Jackson and Cormier’s Javier Mendez — the best of the best. They know everything about their opponents. So much so that a quip made three years ago could accurately predict how someone will get finished.
Before Jones and Cormier fought for the first time, they were building up their feud that would lead to a thrashed face off stage and years of insults by hinting at each other’s weaknesses. Bones said he knew Cormier’s, while DC simply laughed and said he was working on the holes in his game:
“…That will be figured out by September 27th, so don’t think you’re gonna kick me in the head with your left leg.”
Here it is, time stamped and ready to blow minds (notice Conor McGregor, sharing the stage and watching the two go back and forth):
https://youtu.be/9yGpTN74UeE?t=21m14s
And what did Jon Jones do at UFC 214? He kicked Daniel Cormier in the head with his left leg and then ended his reign with much violence.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXKfPLdDR3w/?taken-by=jonnybones&hl=en
Does Cormier remember saying this? Does he remember that this was a weakness he needed to work on, or did he wade into Bones with the hubris of a guy who has thrown around heavyweights like they were nothing? Cormier took head kicks before from Anthony Johnson and others. Maybe he thought he could simply survive whatever Jones had to give him.
Huge props to Redditor Scalpingheads for remembering this clip.
