Daniel Cormier refuses to acknowledge Jon Jones in the “GOAT” debate, and compares it to ‘glorifying Lance Armstrong’
One of the most subjective questions to ask in the MMA community is, “Who is the greatest to ever do it?” Usually, it’s the same four or five household names which pop up, one of those being former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. But his longtime adversary and current 205-pound champion, Daniel Cormier, refuses to include Jones in the GOAT list due to his history of drug test failures.
Cormier (20-1, 1NC) has for long been one of the best to ever step foot in the cage, having a successful period at heavyweight during his Strikeforce days, and blossoming at 205-pounds since making his UFC debut in 2013. The 39-year-old has only been defeated by Jones in the cage, first in 2015, and most recently in July of 2017, however that second victory for Jones was overturned when he tested positive for an anabolic steroid.
Jones recently took to social media to downplay talks of Cormier being involved in the ‘GOAT discussion.’ Although Cormier didn’t respond initially, he spoke to CBS Radio last Thursday about Jones.
“[Jones] doesn’t have a platform and I refuse to give him a platform,” Cormier said. “He’s a nobody. He has been suspended again. He’s mired in controversy for drug abuse. Your issues are tied to steroids, performance enhancers. You don’t get a platform when you’re like that. It’s like me glorifying Lance Armstrong.
“This whole Jon Jones thing has been marred in controversy and never on my behalf. So I can’t let that dictate how I approach my career in any way, shape or form.”
Cormier was reinstated as the light heavyweight champion soon after Jones was flagged for a banned substance after their second meeting. ‘DC’ has since defended the belt against Volkan Oezdemir in January, and will now take on Stipe Miocic for the heavwyeight belt in superfight at UFC 226 on July 7th.
“I didn’t do those bad things. I didn’t do steroids. I didn’t get taken out of a fight for steroid abuse once and test positive for steroids a second time. I didn’t get, before the first fight, having rinky-dinky tests to start. There are so many reasons why I shouldn’t be tied to him anymore and I’ve gotten back to the point now where it doesn’t affect me.”