UFC 214 kicks off on July 29, 2017 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. It is possibly the biggest card of 2017 yet, which is pretty evident from the lineup of fights.
- Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones
- Cris Cyborg vs. Tonya Evinger
- Tyron Woodley vs. Demian Maia
Let’s tackle the Cormier vs. Jones bout. One must remember that Cormier lost to Jones by unanimous decision in their first meeting in the ring at UFC 182 in Jan. 2015. However, he did pick up some nice wins that include a double against Anthony Johnson, and Anderson Silva and Alexander Gustafsson, which makes his a formidable opponent as he has seemed to tighten up his games. On the other hand, Jones has only fought once since his last meeting with Cormier where he won over Ovince Saint Preux by a unanimous decision. What’s important to note is that this was back in April 2016 in UFC 197, so that is a pretty long layoff, which was following suspensions and other incidents outside the octagon.
Can Jones pull it off this time or has his skills diminished with his inactivity? He remains a clear favorite, which of course, Jones’ fans will be happy about. For Cormier, there is a lot at stake and he will need to prove himself as the light heavyweight champ despite wins against Gustafsson and Johnson. He did say that he hadn’t tried hard enough in the clinch in his last fight with Jones and this will be on his mind this time around. That said, Cormier otherwise has a neat record which may tempt punters to put some money on him.
However, Jones is definitely the one to pick. He hasn’t lost except for his fight against Matt Hamill in 2009 at the Ultimate Fighter Finale. He seems to be in good shape and could pick up another win against Cormier by unanimous decision. Time away from the sport may have taken a toll on some fighters but Jones could prove everyone wrong at UFC 214.
Author : Rory McGregor
