Daniel Cormier thinks it’s a desperate move for Jon Jones to be attending UFC 210 this weekend (Sat. April 8, 2017).
The UFC light heavyweight champion is preparing to defend his 205-pound title for the second time when he steps into the Octagon against knockout artist Anthony Johnson. The pair initially met back in May of 2015 for the then-vacant light heavyweight strap at UFC 187, where Cormier won via third round submission.
Former kingpin of 205 pounds, Jon Jones, was forced to vacate his title due to a hit-and-run incident that resulted in ‘Bones” indefinite suspension. Jones was set to take on Johnson in the main event of UFC 187 to defend his title, for what would have been his ninth consecutive title defense, but was removed from the bout after the hit-and-run and replaced by Cormier.
Jones made his return to action back in April of last year and was scheduled to challenge Cormier for the title he never lost, however, Cormier unfortunately pulled out of the bout after suffering an injury in training camp. Jones instead fought Ovince Saint Preux for the interim light heavyweight strap, which Jones won via unanimous decision.
Cormier, whose sole loss in mixed martial arts (MMA) competition came against Jones back in January of 2015, and Jones were set to unify their titles in the main event of UFC 200, however, Jones was flagged by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for a violation and was removed from the contest two days out from the event. Cormier was left to fight Anderson Silva on very short-notice in a non-title bout.
After having served a one-year suspension, Jones is nearing his Octagon return and will be in Buffalo for Cormier vs. Johnson II tomorrow (Fri. April 7, 2017) to speak to the media. During a recent media scrum Cormier addressed Jones’ presence at fight week, and noted that the whole situation is ironic (quotes via MMA Mania):
“It’s so ironic to say that you’d rather fight here than at Madison Square Garden. But, you can’t because you tested positive, or you ran over some lady or you did something to make sure you can’t do the one thing you want to do. It’s crazy. It’s really not that hard to stay out of trouble,” Cormier said.
Cormier believes Jones’ decision to speak to the media before his suspension is even up speaks volumes about his character. ‘DC’ takes Jones’ ‘prancing around’ before he is officially allowed to resume fighting hints that ‘Bones’ isn’t truly sorry for what he’s done:
“But, he is going to be here, which in itself is crazy. I am very (surprised). If I was suspended for anything, especially for something that — whatever it may have said to be — and I’m still suspended there is no way I’m out in public. I’m staying home, I lick my wounds until my suspension is done and then I come back out.
“I think that says a lot about your character,” he continued. “Because are you truly sorry for what you did if your willing to prance around even though your actually still under suspension? You can’t talk to me about a fight against Jon Jones because he is not eligible. When your eligible, we can talk.”
Jones is also set for an after party following the UFC 210 pay-per-view (PPV) this weekend. Cormier found this laughable given Jones’ history with alcohol and drugs, and called out Jones’ manager Malki Kawa for allowing such an event:
“And then, I’m going down the street and I see a poster of an afterparty. What genius did that? What genius decided to give Jon Jones, a recovering alcoholic, an afterparty? Who does that? Great Job, Malki. Awesome work, buddy.”
In the end Cormier is 100 percent focused on the task at hand, Johnson, and is not worried about Jones’ involvement in fight week. He did call Jones’ appearance ‘desperate’, however, and compared him to a varsity quarterback who can’t let go of the past:
“It doesn’t bother me, I just think it’s desperate — very desperate,” Cormier said. “He’s like the old quarterback who was super-successful in high school and he comes back to the parties with his jacket on. You should be fighting here, not walking around with your varsity jacket on with your four state championships.”
You can check out Cormier’s interview here:
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