It has been awhile since we heard about Steven Seagal being involved with someone in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
The aging action-movie star previously worked with Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida, causing quite a stir by taking credit for teaching both of them the front kick that ended their fights against Vitor Belfort and Randy Couture, respectively.
According to UFC 182 headliner Daniel Cormier, he's back.
Cormier, who is only days away from facing Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title, spoke to Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting on Wednesday (Dec. 31, 2014) and said the seventh-degree Aikido black belt had, in fact, reached out to work with him ahead of the biggest fight of his life.
"He will be here tomorrow and he said that he has got some stuff that he wants to show me that he believes will work on Jon Jones," said Cormier. "My mom loves him. He is going to come and meet my parents and then we are going to go and train a little bit."
Cormier, 35, said he trained with the Hard to Kill star two years ago, in a brief session at Seagal's suite in the Mandarin Hotel. And he learned some effective holds that he has used before.
Just not in the Octagon.
"I've used them on my friends," he said. "Sometimes we are playing video games and I'll use them, I'll break out a move. It works. It really can work."
For UFC 182, Seagal's assistant Justin McCully -- yes, that Justin McCully -- reached out and said Seagal wants to "get together." Cormier said he was "all for it" and "made arrangements" to meet up with him.
Cormier was asked if Seagal has a game plan for him.
"He says he does," he said. "He completely blew my strength coach's mind when he heard him on the phone and he said 'I've got three things that I have for you and one of them you are going to get him with.' Now, I'm not necessarily sure that it is going to happen, but you have to believe if you are learning something."
Both Helwani and Cormier seemed to really be enjoying this conversation, as they both know despite Seagal's martial arts credentials, he has become a bit of a punchline among MMA pundits, fans and fighters. The No. 1-ranked UFC light heavyweight added some back story to the upcoming title fight, as if it needed to be promoted any further.
"Now listen to this Helwani," Cormier said, building up his next line. "I don't know where this stems from, but I've heard stories that Jon Jones was very disrespectful to the Master at some point so he is willing to help me."
"So this is his payback?" Helwani asked.
"I think it is," Cormier answered. "The big payback."
"He waited for this fight," Helwani said.
"The moment," Cormier said. "It's like when you get disrespected and you go back to the woods and you start preparing your game plan. And when the time comes you rise like the phoenix and you come back out to the spotlight and you gain your revenge. This… This is his moment for revenge."
Seagal -- who was denied access to "Bones" locker room back in 2011 -- will not be in his corner and the AKA team captain said he did not ask to be.
"Hey listen, all joking aside I'm willing to learn from anybody," said Cormier. "Steven Seagal has been involved in martial arts for a really long time. What if he shows me something that is just amazing? So, we will see what happens."
Will he use what Seagal teaches him on Saturday night in Vegas?
"If I believe it could work, I will try it," Cormier said. "You could show me something Helwani and if I believed it would work, I would try it."
As for what he will learn from Seagal, Cormier said it is still a mystery, even to him.
"No idea," Cormier said when asked what Seagal has in store for him. "We will go to the gym in private. No one. No cameras. Only the people that are part of my circle will be involved in this and we will see what we will work on that evening."
If Cormier defeats Jones, this should be very interesting and entertaining. You can bet on Seagal talking credit and you can take that to the bank.
To find out if the unique strategy pays off, check out our UFC 182 live results here.