UFC 200’s Daniel Cormier laughs off Jon Jones’ striking power: “He can’t punch. He doesn’t hit very hard”

“He cannot punch. He hit me, and I’m like ‘Wow! This is actually him punching me as hard as he can.’ He can’t punch, so he has to throw elbows, kicks, and knees, because he can’t punch. He doesn’t hit very hard, so he has to do something. He does not punch very hard, I’ll be honest with you, man. He kicks very hard, he knees very hard, and he elbows hard, but he can’t punch… Anthony Johnson, 100 percent [is the hardest hitter]. Anthony Johnson hits harder than any other person, no doubt. Every time he hit me, it made me kind of like fly all over the place. He was trying to take my head off. Even when he’d miss, you can hear it. Roy Nelson too, was swinging for the fences, and Dan Henderson. Dan Henderson, even when you’re close and he hits you from very very close, you can feel how heavy his hands are. His hands are pretty powerful.”

-Daniel Cormier rips Jon Jones’ punching power in an appearance on the Opie & Jim Norton show (transcribed by BloodyElbow.com).

Penick’s Analysis: It’s a good thing for Jones he’s not boxing, I suppose. Jones has never shown one punch knockout power, but he also hasn’t needed it. Cormier can rip it all he wants, he still lost that fight, and the rematch isn’t going to come down to how hard Jones punches, either. Jones utilizes those other attacks with much more proficiency and effectiveness because they work better for him, and it’s the way he’s able to employ a variety of attacks and techniques that makes him very hard to be effective against. Cormier has to figure that out before any Jones criticism holds further weight.

[Photo (c) Jayne Kamin-Oncea via USA Today Sports]

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