Top light heavyweight contender Daniel Cormier would be the first to tell you it took a series of fortunate events to lead to his title shot against UFC champion Jon Jones.
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Let's recap, shall we. First, Jones' original opponent Alexander Gustafsson suffered a knee injury that forced him to withdraw from their bout that was originally scheduled for September. Cormier stepped in, and he and Jones engaged in a pre-fight brawl that drew national media attention. Then a video leaked of "DC" and "Bones" trading barbs after an ESPN interview when they didn't know cameras were still rolling.
Their fight became "must-see TV," so despite Jones suffering a knee injury that forced the bout to be postponed, the UFC never considered re-inserting Gustafsson into the title fight. Cormier would also be the first tell you he doesn't feel any remorse for skipping over the Swede.
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"Did we know, [either] Jon and I, that it would be so electric? No," Cormier told MMAFighting.com on Monday. "It's taken on a life of its own and now it's like he can't get back in his place. But no, I mean, I'm not going to feel bad for him now, and I'm not going to feel bad for him when he's waiting at the end of 2015 to fight for the title, because I'm going to win and then Jones is going to get a rematch. So, it's like, Alexander Gustafsson, he was the victim of circumstance. But no, I don't feel bad for him at all."
Cormier, who just landed a gig on FOX Sports 1 as permanent co-host of "UFC Tonight," acknowledged that a lot of the success throughout his career is due to things just happening to fall into place for him.
"It's circumstance, man," he said. "A lot of things come down to circumstance. This job [with UFC Tonight], circumstance. The fight with Jon, it's circumstance. You know, like me winning the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix, circumstances. Sometimes things come down to the person that's willing to step up when an opportunity if presented. I did."
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