UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier went on Ariel Helwani’s new MMA Show on ESPN this week and talked about his future in the sport. DC, who fights UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in a superfight next week at UFC 226, is now 39-years-old and he admitted in his interview that he may only have a few fights left in his Hall of Fame career. Specifically, he mentioned possible fights against Brock Lesnar and Jon Jones as two of the fights that he would like before his career is over, though much of what happens next will depend on how the fight with Miocic goes.
If Miocic beats Cormier, he’ll likely just shift back to 205lbs and try and defend his belt in the last few fights of his career. Should Cormier beat Miocic, though, the possibilities of what is next are endless. DC could potentially defend his heavyweight title against Lesnar at the end of the year if he passes his USADA tests, he could defend his light heavyweight belt against Jones if his suspension gets lifted soon, or he could fight Miocic in a rematch, a new heavyweight contender like Curtis Blaydes or Alexander Volkov, or defend his light heavyweight title against a top contender like Alexander Gustafsson. Or, perhaps in the most intriguing option of them all, Cormier could potentially fight Jones for a third time — but this time at heavyweight, with the UFC heavyweight championship on the line. Again, this all depends on DC pulling off the upset and beating the bigger man Miocic next week.
Almost a year ago to now, Jones beat Cormier for a second time, knocking DC out with a head kick and making him cry in his post-fight press conference. With Jones having won a decision the first time around at UFC 182 and then putting a stamp on the pair’s rivalry with a knockout at UFC 214, a year ago at this time a trilogy match seemed like something that would never happen. But then Jones went out and tested positive for a second time and had his title stripped and returned to DC and the result of the fight turned into a No Contest. Cormier got his light heavyweight belt back and defended it against Volkan Oezdemir, while Jones remains on the sidelines in purgatory with USADA. With the official score between the two 1-0, 1 NC, all of a sudden, the possibility of a Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier trilogy doesn’t seem all that far fetched, and with the potential for a third fight to take place in a different weight class, it makes a trilogy fight between the pair a legitimate possibility.
But even if Jones can go out there and patch things up with USADA, is this trilogy fight with Cormier even a fight the fans want? We know Cormier wants this fight, but we’ve already seen him lose to Jones twice. Even though the second fight is clouded in controversy, MMA fans may want to watch fresh fights and not see a trilogy fight, especially if Cormier only truly does have a few more fights remaining in his career. Even though there is a long history between Jones and Cormier, fans may be tired of this rivalry by now. Having it take place in a different weight class may be the only reason fans would get up for a third fight when we kind of already know who the better man is at 205lbs, but that’s going to really depend on if DC can beat Miocic first, because if he loses, there would be no point in having a potential trilogy fight with Jones up at heavyweight.
If I’m a betting man, I still think the UFC’s dream fight would be to give Lesnar the title fight against the winner of Daniel Cormier vs. Stipe Miocic at the end of 2018. But who knows if Lesnar can even pass USADA’s tests, and so that’s not set in stone by any means. That’s why I don’t think you can necessarily count out a trilogy fight with Jones, even though it’s generally boring to do a trilogy fight when one fighter has won the first two fights. Although Jones remains stuck in purgatory with USADA, it’s possible his suspension could be lifted and he could fight DC for a third time while he’s still an active fight. I don’t think this is the UFC’s first choice — Lesnar is — but it’s probably the UFC’s second choice. As DC himself joked about it, it’s almost a race to see which of Lesnar and Jones can get past USADA first. He knows he only has a few fights left in his career. But is a trilogy fight with Jones what the fans even want? It’s hard to say.
Does the possibility of Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones III interest you?
