UFC 187 Odds – Anthony Johnson vs. Daniel Cormier

Anthony Johnson (-118) vs Daniel Cormier (-102, 2.5 o/u)

With the Light Heavyweight title up for grabs, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Daniel “DC” Cormier will clash in the main event of UFC 187 this Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The Light Heavyweight title is vacant after Jon Jones was stripped by UFC chief Dana White due to his involvement in a hit and run incident. Jones was the champion for 1,501 days and defended his title eight times, but will have to watch from afar as two top contenders battle for a belt that was never lost in the ring.

Unfortunately for Johnson and Cormier, whomever wins on Saturday will have a (figurative if not literal) asterisk by their name, a reality which has the fighters frustrated.

“It does get a little annoying because it’s like people aren’t showing the respect Daniel and I deserve,” Johnson said on the UFC media call.

He added, “It’s almost like they see us like some chumps or something like that, you know what I mean? Once again, we didn’t make Jon do what he did. That was his own doing. But we’re athletes. We are top of the food chain right now, and it is what it is, so it does get kind of aggravating when people want to say, ‘Oh, yes, you’re the paper champ,’ things like that. But in my eyes and in my heart, whoever wins this title isn’t the paper champ. We are the absolute champion of the weight class. We’re the No. 1. We’re the best.”

As far as the actual fight, Cormier possesses a unique style that could trouble Johnson if he can’t land his strikes early in the fight.  Cormier, a decorated wrestler, is 15-1 in his MMA career with 53-percent of his wins coming via KO/TKO, 33-percent by decision, and 13-percent by submission. Cormier was undefeated until his last fight, a five-round unanimous decision loss to Jones at UFC 182.

“DC” comes in as the slight underdog and feels very little pressure, having taken the fight on short notice. “This is the first time in a long time I’ve actually felt like this. I don’t have to win. Am I gonna win? Yes. But I don’t have to. I want to win. I feel so great right now. I’m at ease with everything. I’m sleeping better. It just feels great”, Cormier said according to FoxSports.com.

Anthony Johnson is a pure striker with a 19-4-0 record. Of his wins, an extremely high 68-percent have come by knockout or TKO, including his last two over Alexander Gustafsson and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (both in the first round).

Johnson recognizes that Cormier’s skill set will present a host of problems, but remains confident heading into Saturday.

“Daniel has power; he has speed, good technique,” Johnson added on the UFC 187 media conference call Wednesday. “His wrestling is top notch. Nobody can deny that. For me, that’s great. And for him, that’s great. To me, he’s just gonna be a tougher opponent. He might be shorter than me, but the dude packs a lot of power.”

The built up for this fight hasn’t been great but Daniel Cormier is legit as he showed when he faced Jon Jones, and it took five rounds to the then Champion to be declared the winner. Anthony Johnson can end this fight with one strike, but look for Cormier to get this fight on the ground and eventually earn the submission.

Pick: Cormier (-102). 

(Photo credit: US Marine Corps (AriannyLopez.png) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.)