Daniel Cormier actually has some nice things to say about Jon Jones, and they may rub light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz the wrong way.
It is often said that if you compliment a person multiple times and insult that same person a single time, they will mostly remember and react to the one insult. Everyone can agree that Daniel Cormier has rarely had anything positive to say about Jones, and the insults far outweigh the compliments. Jones may only respond to the criticisms from Cormier, but there have been times where Cormier has spoken highly about Jones as an athlete.
Such a rare happening took place Monday on the DC & Helwani show, where Cormier hailed Jones as still the best light heavyweight in the world, even after Jan Blachowicz’s major victory over Israel Adesanya at UFC 259.
“Even today, for as much as we love Jan Blachowicz and how great he did, I still think that Jones is the best 205-pounder in the world,” Cormier said.
Jon Jones is not expected to attempt to reassert himself as the best light heavyweight over Blachowicz. He is currently planning a move up to heavyweight, where he is expected to challenge the winner of UFC 260’s heavyweight championship bout between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou.
Cormier & Blachowicz Have Clashed About Respect
After Jan Blachowicz captured the light heavyweight championship last year, Daniel Cormier made similar comments when comparing Blachowicz with Jon Jones. Cormier made the following argument on why he believes Jones would have an easy go at it against Blachowicz (h/t TheSportsGeek.com).
“Jones beats Blachowicz. Too slow. (Blachowicz is) too slow to beat … because the thing about Jones people don’t realize, he’s got a good chin. You can hit him. I hit him. A lot of us hit him. He can take punches, man.
“If Jan Blachowicz is out there, and he’s too slow, Jones would pick him apart. If I was still fighting at 205 – or if I was still fighting today – and you said, ‘DC, you can fight Jan Blachowicz,’ I’d probably fight Jan Blachowicz. No disrespect.”
The “no disrespect” tagged at the end of this assessment did little to cool off Blachowicz upon hearing it, with the Pole responding on Twitter with a challenge.
“Hey @dc_mma! If you have so much to say about me, get your fat ass off the couch and come to the Octagon. I’ll teach you some respect.”
And following his victory over Israel Adesanya, Blachowicz was sure to remind Cormier who the real champion of light heavyweight is.
“After the fight, [Jan Blachowicz] walked over and he to the commentary table and he said, ‘Now, I show that I’m the real champ,'” Cormier said on the DC & Helwani Show on Monday. “I go, ‘Jan, you’ve always been the real champ. I’m so happy for you, buddy.”
This sounds like a peaceable enough ending between Cormier and Blachowicz after the undisputed light heavyweight champion once again showcased how worthy he is of respect at UFC 259.
Do you agree that Jon Jones should still be considered the best 205-er in the world?
