If you were expecting Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier to be a bit more chummy just ahead of 2019, well think again.
Last night (Dec. 29), Jones returned from a layoff that lasted over a year due to his run-in with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). His opponent, Alexander Gustafsson had an even longer layoff due to injuries. Jones vs. Gustafsson at UFC 232 was a rematch from their Sept. 2013 bout. While the first fight was a classic, the second encounter was more of a destruction with Jones swinging the hammer. He captured light heavyweight gold with a third-round knockout win.
Jon Jones Responds To Daniel Cormier’s Comments
After the UFC 232 main event concluded, Cormier said that Jones gets a head start in all his fights due to doping. During the post-fight press conference, Jones fired off his response (courtesy of Damon Martin):
“When it comes to Daniel Cormier, he’s always quiet unless he’s speaking out to discredit me, my legacy and my achievements. Every time he opens his mouth and it works against him. I see the fans’ reaction, they’re just like ‘dude leave Jon Jones alone for once, he beat you, you sound so bitter.’ He works his hardest to try and discredit and to try to delegitimize that I’ve beat him twice. The only thing I want to delegitimize as a retaliation is his claim of being a light heavyweight champion. He was never the light heavyweight champion. He never beat me. This has been my era since 2011. This is my era. DC is no champ-champ. When we talk about an asterisk next to my name, there’s always going to be an asterisk next to the idea of him being a champ-champ. The only way he can shut me up from what I’m saying right now is to beat my ass. Simple.
“Me going to heavyweight would be making it extremely personal and for me I have no problem with DC. I have a problem when he comes out and says ‘see I told you guys he’s a cheater, I told you he’s a cheater!’. I have no problem with DC. I’m not going to go to heavyweight and try to take everything from him and destroy his legacy and all that type of stuff. Is it possible that I could do that? It is possible. But I’m fine having mine and he can have his. DC needs to admit to the people that he was never the light heavyweight champion or face me at light heavyweight and shut me up.”
Should Jon Jones move up to challenge for Daniel Cormier’s heavyweight title, or should Cormier challenge for the light heavyweight gold?
