Champ Daniel Cormier: Training, not money, was the reason I didn’t fight Anthony Johnson at UFC 205

Light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier today defended his decision not to fight Anthony Johnson at next month’s UFC 205, telling MMAjunkie Radio he’s earned the right to have a full training camp for the No. 1 contender.

Weeks after the two bickered on Twitter about scheduling, Cormier (17-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) conceded he did have enough time to train for Johnson (22-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) for the Nov. 12 pay-per-view event, which marks the UFC’s long-anticipated debut at Madison Square Garden in New York City. But he said he wanted to be fully healthy before he fought again.

“I had to do some stuff to my knee,” said Cormier, the No. 2 fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA light heavyweight rankings. “So I needed a little more time. Obviously, I’m not going to tell that to Anthony before it happens. But I fought on UFC 200, which was a massive card, so I don’t really feel that need to just be on the first card in Madison Square Garden.”

So instead, it was announced tonight, Cormier will fight Johnson at UFC 206, which takes place Dec. 10 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

The decision didn’t come without financial impact on Cormier’s bottom line. He stood to benefit tremendously from fighting on the card, which is headlined by box office king and featherweight titleholder Conor McGregor in a lightweight title bout against champ Eddie Alvarez.

But Cormier argued he’s at the point in his life when smart career decisions take precedence over quick payouts. Johnson is riding a three-fight knockout streak that put him in line for a title shot after interim champ Jon Jones’ failed drug test scratched a title unifier and Cormier went on to fight Anderson Silva at UFC 200.

“I would have made more money if I fought at UFC 205,” Cormier said. “McGregor sells more pay-per-views than anybody in the game, so obviously I would have benefitted from that. But Tyron Woodley will benefit from it, Joanna Jedrzejczyk will benefit from it, and I’m happy for them. I fought at UFC 200, and even though we didn’t make the money that we anticipated, we made a ton of money.

“I’m not a guy that needs so much; I work all the time. I live off my TV money and sponsorships. Of course, I’m not saying I don’t want more money. I’m saying I don’t feel the need to say, ‘I have to do this’ because Conor is fighting and I’ll make more money. I’ll do what’s best for me, and what’s best for me and my family. Instead of having one massive pay-per-view payday, be in shape, be ready to go and continue to get pay-per-view (points) over the course of however many fights I have the belt.”

The UFC eventually filled Cormier and Johnson’s spot at UFC 205 with two other title bouts, booking a women’s strawweight title bout between champ Jedrzejczyk and Karolina Kowalkiewicz and a welterweight title bout between champ Woodley and Stephen Thompson.

Cormier, meanwhile, said he’s been there, done that at Madison Square Garden.

“I wrestled there at the world championships, so I felt like that was a big deal,” he said. “Eventually, my time will come to fight there. I just needed a little more time to prepare to fight. Last time I fought Anthony, I was just starting to get prepared to fight Ryan Bader, and I fought Anthony on a three-and-a-half week training camp. I didn’t have any fight-specific training for him. So I think at this point where I am in my career, I deserve the ability to prepare for one guy with a sufficient amount of time.”

For more on UFC 205 and UFC 206, check out the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show, available on SiriusXM Ch. 93, is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.