Cormier: Hats Off To Jones
Despite his rivalry with Jon Jones, former UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier could only praise him for calling out Francis Ngannou.
After Ngannou hinted at fighting Jones at heavyweight following UFC Jacksonville last week, the latter was reciprocative to the idea and called for the promotion to send him a deal.
Jones would do the same again on Monday.
Ngannou is arguably the hardest-hitter in the entire sport and undoubtedly one of the scariest fighters to be opposite from.
Regardless, Jones is confident in his abilities and is seemingly open to facing him in a super fight provided he is paid lucratively. UFC president Dana White, however, is skeptical and even alluded to the fact that many fighters talk online but say different things in person.
Many fans in the mixed martial arts world also believe Jones isn’t serious about the callout, even going as far as stating that he’s afraid, especially as he has repeatedly teased a move up to heavyweight throughout the years.
However, Cormier believes Jones is completely serious and could only give him praise for the callout.
“First off, I’m quick to insult Jones. I will insult Jones on any day of the week but I will also give him credit where credit is due,” Cormier told Ariel Helwani on Monday. “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 when you have the accomplishments of Jon Jones?
“Why? That’s the thing that 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. We’re not afraid of anyone. I think that this Jones thing is cool, he’s like, ‘okay, you wanna 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.”
What do you think of Cormier’s comments?