Daniel Cormier Addresses Derrick Lewis' Claim That He Is 'Scared' To Fight Jon Jones

The Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight belt is up for grabs this Saturday night at UFC 230 when Daniel Cormier attempts to defend his belt for the very first time against knockout artist Derrick Lewis.

What started as playful banter between the pair appeared to turn personal, with Lewis stating that the only reason Cormier accepted a short-notice fight against him was to avoid a showdown with his rival Jon Jones who is returning from a 15-month suspension after a doping violation.

After the UFC 230 open workouts, Cormier had a chance respond to those accusations and as expected he was not impressed, firing back and stating that he was never offered a trilogy fight with the former light heavyweight king.

“I was never offered the fight against Jon Jones,” Cormier said. “Nobody told me to fight Jon Jones. I think Derrick has said it, himself, openly that some of the things [he says] you take with a grain of salt, some of the things you believe what he’s saying. He’s just bullsh*tting on that one.”

Lewis previously said Cormier wouldn’t be taking him seriously, given that Cormier had agreed to fight him on short notice while publicly stating he wouldn’t have accepted a fight against former champion Stipe Miocic because he posed a bigger threat.

Cormier is adamant that he never thought Lewis would be an easy fight and that Lewis’ come-from-behind victory recently over Alexander Volkov proved he is not someone you can take lightly.

“In learning about Derrick Lewis, it didn’t make me think, ‘This is going to be an easier fight,’” Cormier said. “It’s going to be tougher than the general public may believe. It made me understand him knocking out Alexander Volkov wasn’t the exception – it was his expectation because he has fought from the very pits of hell, and he scraped his way back up to who he is today.”

Cormier said his skills and experience will be too much for Lewis to deal with on Saturday and he’s going to go after the heavy hitter.

“I’m going to try to rip Derrick Lewis apart,” Cormier said. “There are levels to this fight game. I’ve said that before. I’ve competed at a level above most people for a long time.”