Daniel Cormier continues his saga with Jailton Almeida after making some playful digs at the active Brazilian heavyweight fighter. The saga between the two really made the rounds at UFC 321 when Tom Aspinall’s videography team released a video. A video where Cormier was caught on a hot mic stating that Almeida cannot fight.
The situation between the two has spilled over into the next pay-per-view, with Cormier making some comments about Almeida as part of the UFC 322 weigh-in show. The former two-division UFC titleholder was asked who he would fight on the current UFC roster. An excerpt from the weigh-in show posted to X account @mma_orbit, as Cormier said,
“Jailton [Almeida]. All we’d be out there doing is wrestling, baby. Me and him in a wrestling match, I got a chance. Me and Jailton, wrestling match inside of an octagon. It’s safe. It’s very safe… Both of us just getting takedowns. It’s safe. I can call the next fight. I can literally fight Jailton and then go and call the next fight.”
Daniel Cormier on the pressure Islam Makhachev will face at UFC 322
Putting on his analyst hat for this weekend’s main event, Daniel Cormier touched upon the magnitude of pressure that Islam Makhachev will be facing on Saturday. On November 15th, Makhachev looks to enter rarefied air. The Dagestan native looks to become part of the tradition of two-division champions throughout UFC history.
To do that, the former UFC lightweight champion will look to claim the welterweight strap. Makhachev battles reigning titleholder Jack Della Maddalena in the final fight of UFC 322. Former Makhachev training partner, Daniel Cormier spoke about the JDM fight during an interview with MMA Junkie Radio, as Cormier stated,
“I mean, you always put the pressure on the champion, right? You’re the one who has the potential to lose the belt. That would be the easy answer. The pressure is on Islam. Islam Makhachev is the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. People expect him to win in what is a very difficult fight. This will be the toughest fight of his career, but people expect him still to get the job done.”
“That’s where there’s pressure, and you’re the guy who left your belt to go pursue another one. So, pressure is on Islam because going into the fight this weekend, everybody knows he gave up the belt. So in their minds, they still view him as a champion. You go lose to Jack, now for the first time in a really long time, you’re not the champion in any way, shape or form.”