As Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones gear up to begin their training camps for their upcoming light heavyweight title fight at UFC 178 on Sept., 27, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada, both men will rely on the world-class fighters they have the privilege of training with on a daily basis at their respective camps.
When talking about mixed martial arts (MMA) camps, perhaps there are none more celebrated than Jones' Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA gym down in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Cormier's American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) squad over in San Jose, California.
But that doesn't mean "DC" won't enlist the help of outside sources to prepare him for his first-ever UFC championship title fight.
During his conversation on The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting), the former heavyweight spilled the beans and revealed that he would look to venture outside of AKA and bring out the big guns bazookas, as he hopes to spend some time with Team Black House members Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida.
His words:
"I've got some friends and they put me in contact with some of the guys down in southern California, with Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida. I may down go there for a week. That's a possibility. We haven't worked out all the details, but that is a possibility and we'll see what happens."
In addition to "The Spider" and "The Dragon," Cormier will bring in Phil Davis and Cyrille Diabate for some mat time; perhaps to help him prepare for the champ's height and reach difference -- which "DC" is adamant won't really be a factor come fight night.
Despite the extra all-star caliber help, Cormier will mainly be relying on his AKA teammates for training, namely UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and top middleweight contender, Luke Rockhold.
And while Jones may have perhaps the most stacked gym in the world at his disposal, Cormier is confident "Bones" can't find two training partners down in the 505 that are better than Cain and Luke.
"I tell Jon Jones, show me two guys who can beat my two main training partners, Cain Velasquez and Luke Rockhold. You show me your two who are going to prepare you better than my two. So I'm going to rely on my guys, man. I'm going to rely on Cain, I'm going to rely on Luke to help me become the UFC champion. I'm going to reach out a little bit, but I'm not going to stray very far from my comfort zone."
Jones would likely beg to differ, as his stablemates includes the likes of Alistair Overeem, Travis Brown, Carlos Condit, Frank Mir, Donald Cerrone. and Andrie Arlovski, just to name a few.
Jackson's vs. AKA battle royal, anyone?
Nevertheless, while training partners can assist you prior to the fight, none of that will matter when the cage door slams shut in "Sin City," as it will be solely up "DC" and "Bones" to carry out their game plans to a "T" if they want to walk out of the Octagon with the 205-pound strap.
Regardless of whose training partners are better, you can't argue that both Cormier and Jones are spoiled, as far as the level of training they are privy too, day in and day out.