UFC 166 results: Daniel Cormier explains the reason he refused to call out Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones

Daniel Cormier decidedly defeated Roy Nelson in the co-main event of last night's (Sat., Oct. 19, 2013) UFC 166: "Velasquez vs. Dos Santos 3" pay-per-view (PPV) event from Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

Watch full Daniel Cormier vs. Roy Nelson video highlights right here.

The victory, No. 13 in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career (and that's with no losses), was enough that you would think he could conceivably appeal to the powers that be for a title fight and get his way.

Plus there's that whole matter of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White all but promising it to him when he made the jump from Strikeforce (full details here). But, whatever on that.

Still, Cormier refused to directly call out Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones, though he was incredibly respectful about it. Here's the explanation he gave on the Fox Sports 2 post-fight show:

"I'm always shooting for the top -- you don't shoot for No. 2 or No. 3. I want to fight Jon Jones, I want to fight for the championship. There is no reason for me to call out anyone else. If there is someone else, I'll fight him -- put me in an important fight that's going to get me a championship fight. I'm 34 years old now and I'll be 35 in the New Year. This desk is starting to look pretty good. [I didn't call him out] because it seems that him and Glover Teixeira are fighting. I'm not going to disrespect Glover, but I'd definitely jump at the opportunity to fight the champ."

That makes sense ... kind of. But, it also makes it sound like Cormier is fishing for a showdown against another top contender in waiting who is also on the lookout for a big name opponent who can push him into a title fight against Jones.

Cough, Alexander Gustafsson, cough.

Either way, Cormier is prepared to do whatever it takes to get to where he needs to go:

"I went through a lot of things in my life. I'm about to get serious for a second. I've been through a lot of things. I lost a three-month old daughter, I lost my father, he got murdered when I was seven years old. Anything you put in front of me, I will get through it. My ultimate goal is to be UFC champion. I know what's inside of me, I know what I'm willing to go through to accomplish my goals.... I can get through just about everything [for my family]. Just give me an opportunity."

Cormier vs. Gustafsson sound good to you, Maniacs, ... in Sweden?