On Saturday July 29th, the UFC’s most volatile and hostile rivalry comes to a head when Daniel Cormier, of Lafayette, defends the World Light Heavyweight Championship against Jon “Bones” Jones. This rematch is two and a half years in the making. The narratives have fluctuated throughout the timeline of the rivalry and we are now at the point where they are all pretty much being thrown out of the window. None of the issues that have sprung up between D.C. and Jones matter at this juncture. All that matters now is that the fight actually takes place and a winner is crowned. Even with the time for talk being over, I still cannot get over the fact that some people will cheer for Jon Jones, a true scumbag, over a model combat athlete like Daniel Cormier. D.C. may not give a damn about the boos anymore, but I do, and I am going to tell you why you should be rooting for the champ this Saturday at UFC 214.
First of all, Daniel Cormier is from Lafayette, Louisiana. If you listened to my interview with D.C., you heard him explain how he fights with the spirit of his city and his people in every single fight. Daniel Cormier represents something. He loves MMA and he sees competing in the Octagon as a responsibility to city and people who gave him the ability to do what he loves. I am sure Jon Jones has his motivation, but Jon Jones on the other hand, represents the worst part of young America. Succeeding at such a young age got to Jones’ head and he has done some very dumb things that eventually could be forgiven, but the way he still acts, after countless failures, is just fodder for those people who can’t stand these “entitled Millennials.”
Why would you root for a guy who crashed his car, drunk, into a pregnant woman, and fled the scene? Why would you root for a guy who had the world in his hands, dropped it into the toilet, flushed it twice, and never took responsibility? Jon Jones is that guy. Why would you root for that guy on Saturday?
Daniel Cormier is a father and a great American success story. Daniel Cormier was a badass football player right up the road at Northside High School. D.C. could have played college ball at LSU on a full ride but he declined to pursue his passion, which was wrestling. This is a guy who chose the hard way and climbed his way from community college to elite status on the NCAA mats to World Championship tournaments, all the way up to UFC gold. Nothing was given to D.C., he earned every single ounce of the 20 pounds of gold currently around his waste. This is the kind of guy I want to root for. Someone who inspires, has values, and can also talk eloquent trash.
If these reasons are not enough for you to get behind Daniel Cormier at UFC 214, then I guess I cannot help you. Maybe you like cheering for the bad guys just because. Maybe you are one of these entitled Millenials giving our generation a bad name like Jon Jones. Or maybe you are like Jon Jones and you are just mad and bitter at the world because your (censored for radio) doesn’t work.