Jones' Corner vs. DC's Corner

[TheThinkingGuy]

The two fighters' corners couldn't have been more different. If you watch the fight with the "Red Corner" commentary turned on vs. the "Blue Corner", you can hear what their corners say to the fighters during the fight and between rounds.

--Jones' corner maintained the same calm demeanor throughout the whole fight, even in the second round when Jones was losing. They were constantly yelling out techniques with encoded names, showing confidence in Jones and encouraging him, even when he was slow to listen to them. Also, Greg Jackson was the one barking out orders. Greg would sometimes even ask Izzy Martinez what he was seeing and then yell that out to Jones, showing the clear chain of command on that team.

--Cormier's corner seemed much more disorganized. They didn't yell encoded instructions - so Jones could hear them - and the stuff the usually did yell was obvious, generic techniques. For example, when Jones took Cormier down in the second round, they yelled "get your bottom leg out" (the obvious thing to do), and Jones immediately grabbed his bottom leg to stop him from doing that.

--Between rounds the story was the same. Right from the beginning, Greg Jackson was calm, always starting by telling Jones to relax and breathe. Also, Jackson always gave instructions first, followed by Winklejohn and Martinez. Cormier's corner had guys yelling over each other, and often not giving Cormier helpful advice. At the end of round 3, for example, Javier Vasquez started the between round advice by saying "do you want this?".

For the record, I'm a huge Jon Jones fan who actually thought he would lose this fight. I'm not sure if better advice from Cormier's corner would have changed the outcome (though I think DC's conditioning would have), but it's interesting to note the two completely different approaches, both from world class camps.

 

[estranged]

cliffs please

 

[neomage2021]

cliffs:

Jones corner was excellent, calm and told him what he needed to do

Cormiers corner was terrible, frantic and yelled a lot.

 

[uhwrestler]

DC was also breaking is his corner...while Jones was just warming up...thats the difference between a champion like Anderson and Jones and contenders like Cormier and Chael

 

[MikoSkyns]

Pretty good post for your first time OP. I agree

cliffs please

Are you bloody serious? It took me 40 seconds to read that. If you cant take a minute to read what someone said, why the FUCK are you reading a forum?

 

[riitzni]

Despite the ridiculous claims of both Dana White and people who hate GSP/Jackson's (mostly Diaz fans and theWrassler) they have one of the best camps in the world for a damn good reason.

Greg says exactly what he needs to in the manner that he needs to so his fighter will respond. A vast majority of them need to be calmed down, made to breathe and be given clear instructions. One of the best examples in Carlos Condit vs Rory Mac. He didn't have tactical advice, he didn't have technique advice, Carlos needed to hear that he was losing and he needed to go out there to spend five minutes hitting Rory with everything he had. That approach won't work for everyone but that's why he's a great cornerman.

 

[jimbob27]

Nice post. Pretty much agree with everything you said.

I've always thought Jackson is the best cornerman in the business because he always watches their breathing. Right at the start of the break he makes sure they're not slouching so they can fill their lungs and tells them to breathe deep and slow. Cormier's corner was a joke. Whilst Jackson was re-setting his fighter, Cormier's trainers were stressing him out even more.

I think Jackson is also smart in that he doesn't over-do it with the advice. Between rounds fighters are already in a hugely stressful situation and their brains aren't working properly. When you see 3 cornermen talking over each other for a full minute normally nothing sinks in. Jackson usually gives just 1-2 adjustments for his fighter to make, and they're much more likely to remember what he said because he doesn't overload them with information.

 

[STRAWBOSS]

Good first post.

 

[Da Speeit]

oh i get it, TS

 

[raaju]

agreed. DCs corner sucked hard

 

[zuffazombee]

Agreed, TS. Jackson is a great coach/cornerman.

Another good example is between rounds of the Cerrone-Jury fight. Greg gives his advice then nods to Winklejohn to indicate that it's his turn to talk. This shows leadership, a chain of command & helps to not overwhelm the fighter.

They did a great job last night.

 

[Ajidar]

Bottom line - the fight was lost in the cage, not in a corner. As far as I am concerned, if he kept grinding Jones in the clinch and striking from the inside he would eventually get a KO or maybe even won on points. Maybe his knee problem interfered with cardio training or he was getting frustrated against lanky Jones who was sticking his hands into his face, either way, DC lost the fight and his corner has nothing to do with it.

 

[Ace1988]

When corners panic and begin screaming multiple things at once, I can't imagine that it instills any confidence in the fighter.

 

[Scarzi]

DC was also breaking is his corner...while Jones was just warming up...thats the difference between a champion like Anderson and Jones and contenders like Cormier and Chael

Chael believe right up to him getting finished that he could win, I dunno what you are talking about.

 

[parzark**]

Cormier lost due to game planning. Striking was fine, clinching in the center of the octagon was fine, he expected to be able to control the cage clinching, but he couldn't. He should have avoided it but he didn't, and that gassed him out and he folded.

 

[Phrozenspite]

agreed. DCs corner sucked hard

take him down early isn't the best advice you've ever heard going late into a fight where you had 0 success doing that for the first half?

 

[Combat Wombatt]

Good op.

 

[wartor]

Agree, DC's corner was outclassed. Disagree it made any difference on the fight. DC has been wrestling over 20 YEARS. He made it to the highest level the Olympic level, he had all the wrestling tools you could ask, and he got schooled by Jones in the wrestling. Nobody saw that coming, you can't plan for that or train for it. When you get locked in a cage and find out the other guy is better than you at your best talent, it just deflates you, makes you hang your head.

No matter how great your training/coaching/camps/partners are you are still bound by what you can do. Otherwise Jackson would never lose.

 

[Takamine86]

Yea, I didn't like the way one coach was yelling at Cormier, as if he was just sitting back on the outside. Out of all the guys Jon fought, DC was a guy who constantly trying to get inside and trade. It wasn't a matter of will, DC was clearly trying very hard and was not siting on the outside. But Jon has shown that even if you get inside, he can fight there too. Very rare for the taller fighters.

 

[J180]

Good thread.