Cormier and Gustafsson Fight For Historic Rematch

Fighting the greatest creates enough of a legacy to satisfy most competitors. It ensures your name will appear in print long after your expiration date.

Challenging the greatest makes an impression far exceeding a name in print in a book; it will be spoken of for decades, and its account may fill a couple of pages in the history books.

Beating the greatest, at the least, will cause your name to live as long as the sport itself, and you may get books written about you.

Jon Jones in the greatest light heavyweight fighter that has ever competed in mixed martial arts. There is no close number two. It’s not just who he has beaten – all-time great after all-time great – but how he has beaten them. His fights have ranged from fast and devastating to long and brutal. Oftentimes, he’ll challenge opponents at their own game, meeting them at what they do best, and outclass them all the same.

However, through four years and nine victims after becoming the sport’s top 205er, two opponents have challenged Jones in a way that lent at least a small bit of intrigue toward a rematch.

Alexander Gustafsson seemed to represent little more than cannon fodder for Jones when they met in September of 2013 at UFC 165. He was given the title opportunity in lieu of announced top contender Lyoto Machida in part because Jones, a taller light heavyweight at 6’4”, wanted to prove he was no less effective against an opponent of similar length (Gustafsson stands 6’5”). UFC’s hype focused on that angle, but close followers of the sport were unconvinced of Gustafsson’s chances. Very quickly though, it became apparent that Gustafsson wasn’t looking for a mere mention in the history books.

Not known for much more than his striking, Gustafsson became the first fighter to plant Jones on the mat, and Jones, having always taken down his opponents with ease, had issues returning the favor. As Jones’ surprising struggle became apparent, a classic took form. The match was close throughout, although Jones surged in the final rounds, which was enough for him to slip away with a close victory on the judges’ scorecards.

Talk of an immediate rematch, bolstered by the belief of many that Gustafsson deserved to get the judges’ nod at UFC 165, was shot down by the UFC. Gustafsson instead won a fight to earn his way back to Jones. The two intended to meet again in September of 2014, but a meniscus injury tore Gustsafsson out of the match. The UFC inserted the next most deserving contender for Jones: the unbeaten Daniel Cormier.

In Jones’ time as the top light heavyweight in the world, no opponent figured to be a tougher match heading into the bout than Cormier. Like Jones, he had been dominant; Cormier hadn’t lost as much as a round through all of his 15 bouts. More importantly, he had an Olympic wrestling pedigree that indicated he could plant the champion on the mat with consistency. However, the wrestling battle had a surprising winner.

The early rounds of the match were a dogfight. The two battled in close; the stout Cormier had no issue getting to the inside, but Jones expertly defended his takedowns. Remarkably, Jones had far more success taking Cormier down than the opposite. After three rounds of close, hard-fought action, Cormier, burdened by Jones’ weight leaning into him and breathtaking body shots, slowed significantly. Jones took the fourth, and Cormier couldn’t muster the strength for a fifth round comeback. Jones took home a clear-cut unanimous decision.

This coming Saturday, Cormier puts his his newly-won light heavyweight title against Gustafsson. Although any world title match comes along with significant implications, this one has larger implications than most. The winner will likely rematch Jon Jones in the not-so-distant future – another chance to beat the greatest and carve out a much greater legacy than they could otherwise hope to do.

It remains unclear when exactly Jones will return, but a pre-indictment plea hearing scheduled for September 29 appears to be the first step toward putting his legal issues behind him.

If Gustafsson takes out Cormier and gets Jones, the UFC’s promotional angle will be much different than the first time around. He won’t be looked at as a lame-duck title challenger as he was in 2013, but rather as a proven threat to the returning king.

If Cormier retains against Gustafsson on his way to Jones, there will be doubts about whether he can match Jones’ pace for five rounds, and questions about whether he can get the best of three of them. However, no matter the doubts, a win over Gustafsson coupled with his strong May win over Anthony Johnson would make Cormier the unquestioned no. 2 fighter in the division. Plus, the fact that he has been nothing but dominant in his six-year career outside of the Jones match remains.

Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson have shots at history, but they have to go through each other first. For one of them, Saturday will likely be the precursor to the biggest fight of his life. Each has fought and challenged the greatest, but both have the potential to achieve something much greater.

Dan Plunkett has covered MMA for 411Mania since 2008. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @Dan_Plunkett.