UFC legend Daniel Cormier promises to ‘torture’ YouTuber Jake Paul following UFC 261 confrontation (VIDEO)
Former UFC champion Daniel Cormier has vowed to "torture" YouTube star Jake Paul after their heated confrontation at UFC 261, with the 42-year-old commentator saying that he is more than willing to fight him in mixed martial arts.
Cormier, who is one of a very short list of fighters to have held two world titles simultaneously in the UFC, took issue with Paul at last weekend's UFC 261 event in Jacksonville, Florida, when the former Olympic wrestler threatened to "slap" Paul amid a tense encounter between the two.
Paul's cageside histrionics seemed designed to tempt the retired Cormier into the boxing ring just a week or so after the YouTuber-turned-boxer defeated another Olympic wrestler, Ben Askren, in the ring – and Cormier says that he is more than willing to fight Paul, but that it would only come in mixed martial arts.
"I don't want to fight anyone," Cormier said to ESPN's Ariel Helwani. "But I'm not going to let Jake Paul disrespect me.
"I wanted to grab him by the face and smash him into the ground but you can't do that at work, I would have gotten into a lot of trouble.
"This is not going to be fun. At 42 years old and with a bad back, I'm going to torture him. I'm going to hurt him.
"I don't want to box him, I don't want to fight in a limited skill set of rules; if you really want to fight me, fight me in a mixed martial arts competition."
Daniel Cormier explained his run-in with Jake Paul at #UFC261
Cormier confirmed his retirement from the UFC last August after coming up short in his bid to regain the heavyweight world title from Stipe Miocic. Since then, he has displayed no real intent to make a cage comeback – but he says that he would make an exception for Paul.
"My name will not be used as a springboard," Cormier explained. "I love my legacy and I will protect my legacy and if protecting my legacy means I've got to slap this kid upside his head, that's what I'll do.
"I'll fight him at 205lbs. I'm fat, I'm happy but I'll go all the way down to 205lbs to fight him in mixed martial arts."
Paul's blossoming boxing career currently stands at 3-0 following his first-round KO of Askren.
While he has yet to face any real threat in the ring, the reported numbers associated with the Triller-backed event suggest that his fanbase don't particularly mind who he fights – be it another YouTuber or an ex-basketball player, as was the case for his first two fights.
In Cormier, though, Paul would be facing the sternest test imaginable: a champion-level UFC fighter. And that's exactly why, despite all the posturing in the media, Paul will likely quickly and quietly move on now that his bluff has been called.
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