Daniel Cormier: Fighting Jon Jones 'would be crazy because you know I'm putting him on his back'

Daniel Cormier's kidneys have just been put on blast.

That's because the winner of the Strikeforce Grand Prix Heavyweight Tournament, who's expected to face the dreaded TBA on Sept. 29 on Showtime, has flat-out refused to fight friend and teammate Cain Velasquez if and when he transitions to the ranks of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

And the feeling is mutual.

This is a match-up that can easily be avoided if Velasquez loses to UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos (again) when they eventually clash for a second time inside the Octagon later this year. But if the former division titleholder can reclaim his strap and "DC" crosses over, it could be time to head south for the winter.

Right down to 205 pounds.

That could potentially set up a light heavyweight superfight against Jon Jones, assuming "Bones" can defeat Dan Henderson at the UFC 151 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Sept. 1 in "Sin City." If he does, Cormier tells ESPN.com you can expect Jones to be put on his back.

Those comments after the jump.

"I don't want to fight Cain Velasquez. He's helped me so much to become a mixed martial artist. When I started, the dude opened himself up to me and showed me so much. He didn't have to do that for me ... As I've said time and time again, if Cain is champion, in my heart of hearts, I know I don't want to fight that guy. Then I will go fight Jon Jones. I will fight Jon Jones if I have to. Imagine that: Me and Jones standing across the cage from one another. That would be crazy because you know I'm putting him on his back."

Despite his perfect record inside the cage, Cormier (10-0) is constantly forced to defend his decision to mix it up in the land of giants, as he stands just a shade under six feet tall and tips the scale around 240 pounds. Part of that decision comes from a horrific weight cut that not only cost him an Olympic wrestling bid, but almost cost him his life.

"DC" was an injury replacement for Alistair Overeem when "Demolition Man" jumped ship and headed to the Las Vegas combat club and needed just one victory to reach the Strikeforce Grand Prix Tournament finals. He earned it, too, by knocking out Antonio Silva in the first round.

In fact, he barely broke a sweat.

He capped off his impressive run by dominating Josh Barnett en route to a five round decision win -- and grand prix title -- earlier this year in San Jose, California. He's already penciled in to compete one more time under the Strikeforce banner to satisfy his Showtime contract stipulations before moving over to the UFC heavyweight division.

How long he stays there, is anyone's guess.