Daniel Cormier doesn’t think his rivalry with Jon Jones will truly ever be over.
Cormier and Jones have had arguably the biggest rivalry in the UFC for years now. The two first fought at UFC 182 where it was “Bones” who defended his light heavyweight title by decision.
The two then continued to trade shots at one another and fought again at UFC 214 in a highly-anticipated scrap. There, it was Jones who got his hand raised again, but this time did it by knockout. Yet, it was overturned to a no-contest due to a drug test failure by Jones.
Since that last fight, many fans have wanted to see a trilogy, but it seems unlikely. And, for Daniel Cormier, he says the rivalry isn’t as bad as it used to be. But, he makes it clear he will never like Jones.
“I think that as time passes, things kind of go away,” Cormier said after being recognized as the second fighter in the roster to surpass 50 USADA tests (via BloodyElbow). “We’ve seemed to be on different paths, obviously. But water under the bridge, it will never be.
“I think for a guy like me who’s worked so hard to achieve everything that I’ve done. And honestly, as I said when I won the heavyweight championship,” he added. “Now there’s something so completely outside of that guy, nobody can ever question it.
“But those things that happened did really bad damage to my career,” he continued. “And it’s easier for them to move on than it is for the person that kind of had the… my career was damaged by those actions. Not his.”
Now, Daniel Cormier has made it known he is only interested in one fight and that is the trilogy with Stipe Miocic. He also expects it to be his retirement bout.
“I was blessed to have a lot of moments in fighting, and hopefully I got one more in me,” Cormier said. “That’s really all I think about. That’s it. Just one more moment to hoist that belt up over my head like I’ve done on so many occasions.
“I talked to the UFC and we’ve got a pretty clear idea of what we want to do. And now I have to see what the champ says. I don’t make the rules. He’s the champion,” he continued. “I respect that, I respect Miocic, and I just hope it happens sooner than later,” he added. “We got an idea what we’re gonna do, and I think it’ll work out.”
What do you make of Daniel Cormier saying the rivalry with Jon Jones will never be water under the bridge?