Each week, ESPN.com writer and MMA Live Extra analyst Brett Okamoto provides his take on the hottest topics in the world of mixed martial arts.
This week, Okamoto squares off with former UFC welterweight title contender Dan Hardy to debate the latest news and trends. Hardy (25-10, 1 NC), 33, has not fought since 2012 due to a medical condition.
1. After withdrawing from UFC 197 with injury, Daniel Cormier offered to train his replacement, Ovince Saint Preux, to fight Jon Jones on April 23. Thoughts?
Hardy: It's a smart move in two ways. One, it could potentially put a dent in Jon Jones. The other thing is that 'OSP' is a contender. 'DC' is offering to train him for a fight but he could also get a good look at his skill set if they were to ever fight. I think OSP might be a way of testing Jones' skill set with another body, for DC as well. If he could put OSP out there and say, 'Work on this, look for this,' those might be things Cormier was questioning about his own game plan. If I were OSP, that would be my first instinct about this offer: "Huh, I think he might be using me as a guinea pig."
Okamoto: I think Cormier is frustrated and who can blame him? This is the fight that will essentially define his career. That's woefully unfair, but it's reality. Win or lose, he's a great mixed martial artist, but everyone will remember that his reign as a UFC champion took place while Jones was in timeout. A rematch against Jones is the most important fight of his career and now he has to wait for it. I'm sure he's heartbroken and that's having an effect on everything he does or says. Honestly, I don't think this offer to train Saint Preux places him in that flattering of light. I don't know why he would want to help another man become the first to ever legitimately beat Jones -- that's an achievement he should want for himself. Kinda puzzling to me. I think Hardy's guesses on why he did it are as good as any.
2. With Cormier only sidelined four to six weeks, should the UFC have created an interim title between Jones and Saint Preux?
Hardy: I don't think so, no. It should be at least six months a champion is out before we start talking about interim titles. If it's a legitimate injury that needs surgery and we can expect him to have a lot of time off, then create an interim title. But I like the belts to be on the real champions. Unless we somehow develop an interim title, maybe a belt that's another color, so that there is some distinguishing characteristic about it, I don't think we should be throwing around interim titles as much as we are. It seems to devalue champions.
Okamoto: No way. The only way you can justify this is that Jones never "really lost" the title because it was stripped. No one ever took it from him in the cage. I don't look at it that way, though. Jones was facing serious legal consequences last year. No one knew when he would be able to fight again -- he wasn't able to defend his title, so he lost it. And while I do believe Cormier's title reign will be remembered with an asterisk attached if he never beats Jones, that doesn't mean I don't consider him a champion. At the moment, he is the official champion of the UFC and creating an interim belt when he's only going to be out for a short amount of time is a disrespectful move by the promotion if you ask me.
3. After Cormier withdrew, he and Jones continued to go at each other on social media. Where does Jones vs. Cormier rank in terms of all-time rivalries in the sport?
Hardy: I think it has to be the best one. We've had good rivalries before that have been one-sided. Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock was really one-sided. Tito was basically beating up an old man to make as much money as he could. Then we've got other rivalries that have only lasted one fight. My rivalry with Marcus Davis came and went pretty quickly. Once the fight was over, it was pretty much squashed -- whereas this one has been going on and on. There's a whole storyline to this one and a rivalry needs that. The drama of Jon Jones' life and Cormier being the polar opposite, being able to stand up on his soap box and judge him from there, it makes for an interesting dynamic.
Okamoto: I think it might be tops as well. It's always easy to go with the answer that's right in front of you, but this rivalry has everything -- Jones is arguably the greatest fighter ever. Cormier could be one of the greatest light heavyweights of all-time in his own right, but he's forced to play second-best, which drives him crazy. As Hardy mentioned, the dynamic between them couldn't be better. Jones walks the finest of lines between establishing himself as a legend in the sport ... and throwing his talent away. Cormier, meanwhile, seems a straight-forward, dedicated, by the book workhorse, but he can't best Jones. Really, the only thing missing from this rivalry might end up being a truly competitive fight. If Jones wins the eventual rematch, it's hard to imagine this rivalry lasting much longer.
4. UFC middleweight Yoel Romero received a reduced suspension of six months, after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) found he had unknowingly taken a contaminated supplement. Did the punishment fit the crime?
Hardy: You look at Romero and say, "He's a monster and it wouldn't surprise me at all if he failed a drug test." I've never been able to look like that naturally, but if he really is that blessed, more power to him. When this was explained to me though, the drug test he took right after his fight (on Dec. 12 against Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza) was clean. The test four days later came back positive and the thing they found in the drug test, the reason he used it was because his body was so swollen and bruised from the fight that during the flight home, he was quite uncomfortable. So, he had someone give him a herbal supplement he thought was clean but it wasn't. If that's the start and finish of the story, then I do think his sentence should be reduced. The criticism is with the supplement company and that whole industry is not going through the (US Food and Drug Administration). So, it exposes athletes and a lot of other people to contaminated substances. That needs sorting out, desperately.
Okamoto: I think USADA has to impose some type of sanction. Whether the positive test was the result of a contaminated substance or not, in general, it's good to live by the motto: You are responsible for what you put into your body. Had USADA let Romero off the hook completely, it would have run somewhat counter to that declaration. At the same time, I don't think you remove an athlete's right to make a living if a World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited lab has gone to the effort of independently collecting the supplement and found it is indeed contaminated. I am all for comprehensive drug testing and harsh penalties for those trying to cheat, but I'm also for fighters' rights and due process. These circumstances called for a reduced sentence, in my opinion.
5. UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson seeks his eighth consecutive title defense against Henry Cejudo at UFC 197. Will he break Anderson Silva's record of 10?
Hardy: I don't see why not. I think Cejudo is a real tough test for him. I think he's far more dynamic than other athletes Johnson has fought in the past. If you look back, Joseph Benavidez was always my favorite as a man who could potentially take the belt from him, but Joe's reckless style sometimes exposes him, like it did in the rematch (Dec. 2013). I think Cejudo is going to be able to get away with a lot of stuff because he's such a fantastic athlete. Johnson knows how to roll out the victory parade, he's been doing it over and over again. It's an interesting fight, but as of right now, I see Johnson winning and yeah, I think he breaks that record.
Okamoto: As easy as he's made the first seven look, I think my answer has to be yes. Like Hardy, I think Cejudo is a dangerous opponent, but Johnson has more ways to win that fight and then who's next? The UFC recently announced that an upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter reality show would crown a 125-pound title contender. That might be the UFC's way of drumming up interest in a show that will be in its 24th season, but it's also a sign the promotion has run out of viable flyweight contenders. Beyond a third crack for Benavidez, the 125-pound barrel is largely scraped clean of obvious candidates. It's amazing we're talking about such a significant record seemingly being broken with ease by Johnson, but how can you bet against this guy right now? Yeah, I think he surpasses 10 in a row.
