UFC’s Daniel Cormier moved by Frazier, Holyfield as fateful rematch with Jon Jones looms

Nearly 15 years ago, Daniel Cormier was attending an event known as the Titan Games in Atlanta when he entered a hotel lobby and noticed a familiar looking older man wearing a unique hat.

“Thick, barrel-chested … like me, kind of,” Cormier said.

That man was Joe Frazier, the former heavyweight boxing champion defined by his rivalry with Muhammad Ali.

Cormier, the UFC’s light-heavyweight champion, can relate.

After suffering his first and only loss to former long-reigning champion Jon Jones in January 2015, Cormier (19-1) watched his shot at revenge vanish when Jones tested positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance in July, scrapping their UFC 200 main event and costing Cormier an estimated $1 million in purse money.

“For sure, it’s pretty easy to create these parallels,” Cormier said. “But the only reason Frazier-Ali was a rivalry is because Frazier won too. If Frazier never won, it’s not a rivalry, and if I don’t win, this is not a rivalry. I have to win.

“Which I’ll do.”

Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. for the UFC 214 main event at Honda Center on July 29 between the 38-year-old Cormier and 29-year-old Jones (22-1), who has won 13 consecutive fights but has only fought one less-than-impressive bout since his unanimous-decision triumph over Cormier nearly 2½ years ago.

Cormier has wept, stewed and vented in the interim, winning the belt the UFC stripped from Jones after a car crash that injured a pregnant woman in 2015 and taking a 4-0 run into the bout after impressively outwrestling the likes of UFC 200 replacement opponent Anderson Silva and hard-hitting No. 1 contender Anthony Johnson.

After losing to Jones, Cormier came across an ESPN documentary, “Chasing Tyson,” that detailed Evander Holyfield’s pursuit of a fight with Mike Tyson after winning the belt while Tyson was in jail.

“So I start comparing my situation with Jon Jones to Evander Holyfield,” Cormier said. “Evander Holyfield could never be accepted as the champion until he vanquished Mike Tyson. Even though Mike Tyson’s [fall] was from self-inflicted wounds. He went to jail, Evander became champion. I watched ‘Chasing Tyson’ … and thought, ‘Wow, I am Evander Holyfield.’”

While Jones, like Tyson, must answer for the toll of ring rust, Cormier burns to prove he’s better, and as the fight night nears he can’t help but feel touched by the legacy of those who preceded him.

“I promise you not a day later [after watching the documentary], I get a follow from Evander Holyfield [on Twitter] and a message, something like, ‘Keep your head up, keep working. Eventually, you’ll get your chance to prove you’re the champion.’ I almost lost it. I was so happy. Unbelievable.

“And here it is.”

lance.pugmire@latimes.com

Follow Lance Pugmire on Twitter @latimespugmire