Anderson Silva told me Daniel Cormier 'has fear in his heart', says Jon Jones

Bengaluru, July 26: Jon Jones has gained more confidence following a chat with former UFC champion and friend Anderson Silva ahead of Saturday's (July 29) UFC 214 title rematch with Daniel Cormier.

Jones, who fights Cormier for the light heavyweight championship in the UFC 214 main event, always regarded highly of Silva throughout his career.

Jones beat Cormier in their previous encounter at UFC 182 in January 2015.

The multiple attempts to schedule rematch, with one failed try at UFC 200 in July 2016.

The fight was called off during fight week as Jones was suspended with a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) violation, which led to Silva replacing him within 48 hours to the event.

Cormier beat Silva by unanimous decision with the help of a wresting-heavy strategy.

"When it comes to the fight, basically he just told me to know what I'm capable of," Jones said in UFC 214 conference call.

"He said basically in a roundabout way: 'Make sure you know what you're capable of.'

"He said it was almost surprising to feel the level of fear (he) felt from Daniel."

He said to me, 'I'm an old man now, and Daniel had to take me down round after round because I felt fear coming off of him. This man has fear in his heart.'

He said, 'Know what you're capable of, go out there, and you take this from him.' In a roundabout way that's what he said."

UFC 214 will be hosted at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Jones Vs Cormier headlines the main card in the pay-per-view following prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

However, Jones said he has taken Silva's advice to heart, but he also knows that he's an entirely different animal to the former UFC middleweight champion.

He believes Cormier won't be able to do the same things to him as he did to Silva, which is a huge added advantage.

"Anderson Silva's my idol," Jones said.

"He's been the guy I've respected the most since I was 19 years old and I got into this sport."

"To hear him have that level of faith in me and pretty much tell me that it's already done, I just need to go out there and do what I'm capable of."

"It felt great coming from him. One thing about me and Anderson is my takedown defense is solid, dude. There's no taking me down if things don't go your way."

"There's definitely no laying on me in half guard the whole time the way that happened."

Cormier responded to the comments Jones relayed from Silva and regarded them as meaningless. He believes the fact Silva lost to him gives him a skewed view of reality.

"It's good that Anderson called him with advice, but that would almost be like me having Glover Teixeira calling me to tell me how to beat Jon Jones," Cormier said.

"He lost. It's much easier to give advice about someone you lost to. He doesn't want to see me win."

"I beat him. Go get Jon to go do the job he couldn't do. It doesn't bother me."

"I couldn't really care less if everyone calls him and tells him how he should beat me or how they felt when they were in the octagon with me," DC concluded.

It sure is going to be a gripping contest as the two of the best in the light heavyweight division will fight this Saturday (July 29) in what looks to be the best UFC event of the year.

The trailer was released earlier by the promotion for the showdown, watch it below:

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