UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has trained for months to defend his title against Alex Gustafsson on Saturday at UFC 192. But if he doesn’t indulge a superstition on Friday night, all that hard work could be for naught.
“My clothes and [gear] have to be prepped all the time in the exact same way. Every time,” Cormier told The Post on Tuesday, shortly after landing in Houston where his fight is scheduled to take place at the Toyota Center. “The night before the fight, my shirt, shoes, shirt. … Everything is on a chair that is off limits to everyone who comes by and visits. They do not touch it.”
Cormier, 36, will be defending his title for the first time after winning it in May and has left no room for imperfection — both in the Octagon and out. He knows if he makes a mistake on Saturday against Gustafsson, a 6-foot-5 Swedish striking specialist, he could lose the title as quickly as he won it at UFC 187, in which he beat Anthony Johnson to win it all after the UFC stripped longtime champion Jon Jones because of legal trouble.
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[Daniel Cormier ultimately wants to face Jon Jones]
“Being inside of the Octagon, you better be on point 100 percent because there’s someone in there trying to take your head off,” he said.
And if Gustafsson, 28, knows what’s good for him, he’ll live by the mantra, too, because, as Cormier warns, “I’m gonna smash him on Saturday.”
The two fighters couldn’t have more different styles. At 5-foot-11, Cormier (16-1-0) understands it won’t be easy to take down Gustafsson (16-3-0), a striker whose reach extends 79 inches. Cormier, a grappling specialist, knows that to win he’ll have to close the distance and fight on the inside, but he said he’s got “a couple of new things” he and his team have been working on that “will be at play in this fight” to keep Gustafsson — and fans — guessing.
Cormier wouldn’t give any hints about what those might be, but one could guess these “new things” might have to do with him getting what he believes would be the ultimate finish.
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“The perfect finish would be knocking him out because that would really perk some ears up,” Cormier said. “He’s the striker and I’m supposed to be the wrestler, so if I could knock him out, that’d be great.”
Cormier isn’t going to be picky, however, when it comes to winning.
“I just see my hand getting raised,” he said. “I’ve come to terms that no matter which way it happens, I’m okay with it. If it’s a submission – great; a knockout – great; if it’s a decision, I’m good with that. No matter what the outcome is, as long as it’s me getting my hand raised and keeping my championship, I’m good to go.”
[UFC 192 preview: Cormier vs Gustafsson]
Asked whether he foresees a long or short fight against Gustafsson, Cormier couldn’t answer, although he said the dream would be a victory a la Ronda Rousey’s women’s welterweight bouts, which often end in seconds.
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“Every single person in the UFC wishes they could get people out as fast as Ronda Rousey,” he said, “but these guys are so tough.”
Cormier, whose fights often take three or more rounds to finish, does have at least one thing in common with Rousey, and that’s what many see as his increasingly bombastic personality. But while Rousey embraces being labeled a villain, Cormier, who was dubbed “the most arrogant champion” by fellow fighter Ryan Bader in May, says that besides becoming slightly more sarcastic to his trolls on social media, he thinks he’s the same person he’s always been.
“I’m the same guy,” the Louisiana native said, even down to the pre-fight ritual with his uniform, which he said extends back to his days as an NCAA wrestling standout. “The people that have watched me from the beginning know that I’ve always been a confident guy. From the very moment I started fighting I’ve been confident. I’ve always believed in myself and my team. And that’s the same thing.”
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Cormier’s boxing coach Rosendo Sanchez agrees. Since his client won the title, he doesn’t see any big changes in Cormier’s personality, which he describes with words like “loyal,” “giving” and “humble.” Sanchez has, however, seen a difference in his work ethic.
“If anything it has made him work even harder,” Sanchez said in an e-mail. “He’s in the best shape of his life.”
Cormier is welcoming his new role as champion even if it puts a target on his back. Cormier didn’t get into it to make friends; he got in it to win.
Whether his opponents are friends or enemies, Cormier says “it doesn’t really matter.”
“They can all be my friends and that wouldn’t really affect me either way or the other because I still have to fight them,” he said. “Or they could all be my enemy, and that just makes it easier to fight them, so it’s really not that big of deal to me. I don’t care.”
In the end, the only people in his life other than himself who he feels the need to answer to are his children.
“The only thing I do say is the truth that I believe, so I can always explain it to my children,” he said. “I make sure that I’m okay at the end of this whole thing.”
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