UFC 226: Could Daniel Cormier fight Jon Jones again this year?
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'I still feel I can win,' says Cormier about potential third fight with rival Jones
UFC light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will move up to the heavyweight division to face Stipe Miocic at UFC 226 in July, but he still has unfinished business with a long-time rival.
“I want to fight Jon Jones,” Cormier said earlier this week. “That’ll never change.”
Cormier and Jones have fought each other twice in the UFC, with Jones winning on both occasions. But his career has been marred with controversy, having twice tested positive for banned substances.
Jones defeated Cormier in 2015, and most recently at UFC 214 last July. However, the second decision was later overturned to a no contest, after it was revealed Jones had violated USADA doping regulations. He hasn’t returned to the UFC since.
UFC 214
“I still feel I can win," Cormier said. “I know I’ve lost twice, and in the last fight I got kicked in the head, but I feel like we were having a good fight. I feel that every fight has been good, and that if we fought a third time, it’d be even better.”
Former light-heavyweight champ Jones was not going to miss an opportunity to add fire to the flame, replying to Cormier’s comments by saying: “Come get me baby.”
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In the latest episode ofThe BBC MMA Show,Nick Peet reviews the ongoing Cormier and Jones saga, giving us his thoughts on what the chances are of seeing the two rivals sharing an octagon together for a third time.
“This is beef that feels like it's going to go on forever,” Peet says. “Cormier feels like he’s still got it in his locker to beat Jones.”
“We don’t know what’s going to happen with Jon Jones, but we’re hearing lots of noise that he’s going to return this year."
Jon Jones at UFC 214
He continues: “I think if DC is successful in the summer when he fights Stipe Miocic, I don’t see any reason for him to come back to the light-heavyweight division - other than to face Jon Jones. It wouldn’t surprise me if DC says, 'Let's do the fight, but let's do it in the heavyweight division.'"
Despite Jones's run-ins with the law - and three suspensions - many of his fans have remained fiercely loyal, casting Daniel Cormier as the 'bad guy' of the rivalry.
Why does everyone boo Daniel Cormier?
“(In) all the best rivalries, there’s a good guy and a bad guy,” Peet adds, who was critical of the UFC and Jones’ management team for how they tried to paint a clean-cut image of the fighter.
“They always try and present him as this positive role model, whereas years ago they should have just said, ‘This is the Mike Tyson of MMA'.
“Daniel Cormier - he’s the hero. He’s the guy who went to two Olympic games, a lovely family man. Let him play that role, let Jon Jones play the heel, but for years they’ve tried to push Jon Jones the other way."
But ahead of any possible bout against his biggest rival, DC will have more pressing things on his mind. The light-heavyweight champ will hope to become only the second fighter in the UFC – after Conor McGregor – to hold two world titles consecutively when he fights heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic on 7 July.
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