UFC heavyweight Daniel Cormier on Wednesday addressed his verbal feud with Jon Jones one more time. If Cormier is to be believed, it will also be the last, at least until after his fight with Roy Nelson at UFC 166.
“This will be the last time I talk about Jon Jones,” Cormier said Monday on The MMA Hour broadcast with host Ariel Helwani. “As I move into my training camp, I’m only going to talk about Roy Nelson, because he’s a tough guy, he deserves respect, and he’s an adult, not a kid.
The light heavyweight champion has taken some personal shots recently at Cormier, a two-time Olympic wrestler. In an interview with GracieMag, Jones questioned Cormier‘s physique and work ethic, asserting Cormier is a guy “who wants to be famous.”
On Monday, Cormier expressed bafflement over the vitriol, though he did take a few parting shots at Jones before saying he was ready to move on.
“He’s a different type of guy,” Cormier said. “That’s all I’m going to say about it. When you start coming in contact with him, he actually becomes a little more difficult to deal with.”
Cormier fights at a heavier division than Jones, but Cormier said Monday he will “definitely” fight at light heavyweight after his bout with Nelson. There has also been speculation that Jones will eventually try his hand in the heavyweight division.
Cormier said a collision between him and Jones was inevitable.
“Do you want to fight me or do you not want to fight me? That’s the question,” Cormier said. “The truth is, we’re going to fight at some point, and all of these things are going to be answered.”
The 34-year-old Cormier (12-0) is 1-0 in the Octagon after moving to the UFC in early 2013 following the folding of Strikeforce, his previous home promotion. While in Strikeforce, Cormier went 4-0 and won the heavyweight grand prix in 2012.
Also on Monday, Cormier called Nelson “the toughest opponent I have ever faced in my career.” Nelson also has a verbal history with Cormier, indicating Cormier was an “Uncle Tom” in an earlier interview. Cormier brushed off the comment on Monday.
“In a general sense, I mean, it’s a little disappointing, but it wasn’t that big a deal,” Cormier said. “It fuels the fire.”
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