The reigning Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier will enter UFC 200 as the UFC betting underdog, a position that he probably will use as motivation. His fight versus the Jon Jones in the biggest card in Mixed Martial Arts this year puts him with slim chances of retaining the title. Why is the champ in such a position facing an opponent who just came back to the octagon and had a rather underwhelming performance in their first fight back?
The answer to that question is a bit complicated. Jon Jones is a badass, plain and simple, and in the eyes of many he is one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time. Jones did not lose his title on the octagon in the hands of a much skilled opponent. Jones lost the title by his own personal demons. In April 2015, Jones was stripped of his title.
Cormier’s first fight versus Jones was a classic that, even though he lost, made him more notorious amongst UFC betting fans. After Jones was stripped of the title, Cormier was pushed to the forefront and for a shot of the then vacant title. He won the belt after a heck of a fight against Anthony Johnson. After that his first defense was against Alexander Gustafsson on October 2015. He is rightfully a champion, but his title reign comes with a big question mark. He did not beat Jones for the belt.
In UFC 197, Cormier was signed to fight the returning Jones for the championship, and back then sports writers and fans betting on UFC were expecting for Jones to come back stronger than ever. Cormier an underdog back then, had to pull out from the fight due to a foot injury. Jones went on to face Ovince St Preux, and while many expected Jones to be a one man wrecking crew, the fight was rather uneventful and ended on an unanimous decision. With that victory the hype train began rolling again and Cormier vs Jones was set as the main event of UFC’s biggest event.
The line for this bout is as follows:
Jon Jones 4½ (-145) -320
Daniel Cormier 4½ (+125) +260
Jones is still the favorite for this fight, after all the time off he had doesn’t take away that he is one of the best fighters ever, but Cormier is a fighting champion. He knows and finds motivation that in order to fully solidify and enter his name in greatness he must beat Jon Jones, a man that is “technically” undefeated. Cormier is an interesting pick for this coming UFC 200, he has matured as a fighter and he is definitely a much different individual to the man who faced Jones in UFC 178. He will look to take down down Jones and make him submit. He knows that Jones strikes might be a difference maker, but if Cormier is able to strap on the rear naked chokehold, it could be over and he might continue with the latest trend of upsets that have been going around in these events. UFC betting fans are definitely noticing, upsets are becoming more and more common.
