All eyes will be on the main event tonight (Sat., Oct. 3, 2015) at UFC 192 when light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier defends his belt against lanky Swedish striker Alexander Gustafsson.
But the co-main event may also have title implications for whoever holds the belt on Sunday morning, with both Rashad Evans and Ryan Bader looking to get that chance.
Cormier intends to be the one welcoming one of those two if and when that happens, and he sat down with Megan Olivi of UFC on Fox Sports 1 to give his prediction of who it might be:
"It's a great fight. You know, Rashad Evans at his best is as good as anybody in this division. But Rashad Evans at his worst, he skates by sometimes. Bader has gotten better. You know, Bader used to make a lot of mistakes inside of the Octagon. He doesn't do that anymore. That's why he's always so close. In a three round fight if he keeps it close, get a few takedowns at the right time, you can win decisions. But if Rashad shows up at his best, this is an easy fight for him."
So, assuming Cormier is right and both he and Evans prevail, would he welcome a fight against the former light heavyweight champion?
That all depends on the X Factor that is Jon Jones, who after pleading guilty and receiving probation for April hit and run incident, looks ready to return to the Octagon.
"At some point he may come back. The UFC is obviously going to do their internal investigation and see when he comes back but I would like it to be him. I think he'll be back sooner rather than later."
We can only hope. Meanwhile, both Gustafsson and Bader would no doubt love throw a monkey wrench into Cormier's well-laid plans when they get into the cage tonight.
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