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Daniel Cormier has some complimentary words for former rival Jon Jones.
From 2015 to 2017, Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones were two of the fiercest rivals in MMA. But after Jones’ second win and Cormier moving on to heavyweight, both men have seemingly squashed their beef along the way.
These days, “DC” only has complimentary words for “Bones.” In a recent conversation with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, the former two-weight UFC champion gave props to Jones for wanting to fight heavyweight brain shaker Francis Ngannou.
“I will insult Jones on any day of the week, but I will also give him credit where credit is due,” Cormier said (transcript by MMA Junkie). “And I truly believe that this Francis Ngannou thing is one of the most gangster things in the world.
“Why would you be afraid of anyone, especially if you’re a guy that has the accomplishments of Jon Jones? Why? That’s the thing I don’t get when people say me or Jon Jones, that we’re afraid of somebody. It’s the most asinine thing in the world.
“I think that this Jones thing is cool,” he added. “He’s like, ‘OK, you want to fight? Let’s do it.’ That’s what any person in the world, a true fighter, would do, and I think hats off to Jones.”
Jones and Ngannou have been trading pleasantries online lately, seemingly to hype up the matchup. UFC president Dana White, however, isn’t too sold on it just yet.