Jon Jones still doesn’t respect Daniel Cormier: ‘I hope he’s somewhere crying right now’

Jon Jones didn’t care for Daniel Cormier before UFC 182. And nothing has changed for the UFC light heavyweight champion afterward.

“I don’t like Daniel Cormier,” Jones said Saturday night on FOX Sports 1. “I don’t respect Daniel Cormier. I hope he’s somewhere crying right now. I’m sure he is. I can’t wait until he earns his way back, so I can whoop him again.”

If you thought Jones and Cormier would hug and let bygones be bygones after the fight, well, you were sadly mistaken. There is still no love lost between the two.

Cormier might have pushed Jones hard for three rounds and landed several hard punches to Jones’ face in Jones’ unanimous decision victory at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. But none of those things have changed how Jones feels about the man.

Jones didn’t just set out to beat Cormier on Saturday night. He wanted to defeat him at his own game: wrestling. And he succeeded.

“I outgrinded him,” Jones said. “I held him against the cage. He could not get off the cage. He could have got off the cage, but I wanted to prove he’s not the king of the grind. It wasn’t a pretty fight. It wasn’t a technically sexy fight. But I proved that he wasn’t the kind of the grind tonight, I was the king of the grind.”

Within many of the barbs fired each way before the fight, Jones made the point that Cormier was known for breaking mentally during his wrestling career. The champion set out to do that in the Octagon. Jones turned up the intensity in the fourth and fifth rounds and Cormier was unable to rise to the occasion after winning the second round and putting forth a very good effort in the third. Jones said it was “my version of the rope-a-dope.”

“I just knew once the cardio started to become a factor, he was going to look for a way out,” Jones said.

The two did touch gloves before the fight started. But there was no hug afterward. Actually Jones began celebrating before the bell rang in the fifth round and then threw two more punches when Cormier seemed to have his guard down. Cormier then followed up with punches of his own as the bell sounded. One of them nearly hit referee Herb Dean, who was trying to break up the action. Then Jones made an obscene gesture toward Cormier.

“After the bell rang, he snuck in two punches,” Jones said. “I don’t think any of them hit me. He almost hit Herb Dean. That’s why I gave him the ‘suck it’ sign, because he tried to hit me after the bell.”

Jones apologized for being “classless” in the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. But in the post-fight press conference, Jones was considerably less remorseful.

“I know if he would have won, he would have been up here talking all types of trash,” Jones said. “So I don’t feel sorry for him. This is combat.”

Jon Jones didn’t care for Daniel Cormier before UFC 182. And nothing has changed for the UFC light heavyweight champion afterward.

“I don’t like Daniel Cormier,” Jones said Saturday night on FOX Sports 1. “I don’t respect Daniel Cormier. I hope he’s somewhere crying right now. I’m sure he is. I can’t wait until he earns his way back, so I can whoop him again.”

If you thought Jones and Cormier would hug and let bygones be bygones after the fight, well, you were sadly mistaken. There is still no love lost between the two.

Cormier might have pushed Jones hard for three rounds and landed several hard punches to Jones’ face in Jones’ unanimous decision victory at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. But none of those things have changed how Jones feels about the man.

Jones didn’t just set out to beat Cormier on Saturday night. He wanted to defeat him at his own game: wrestling. And he succeeded.

“I outgrinded him,” Jones said. “I held him against the cage. He could not get off the cage. He could have got off the cage, but I wanted to prove he’s not the king of the grind. It wasn’t a pretty fight. It wasn’t a technically sexy fight. But I proved that he wasn’t the kind of the grind tonight, I was the king of the grind.”

Within many of the barbs fired each way before the fight, Jones made the point that Cormier was known for breaking mentally during his wrestling career. The champion set out to do that in the Octagon. Jones turned up the intensity in the fourth and fifth rounds and Cormier was unable to rise to the occasion after winning the second round and putting forth a very good effort in the third. Jones said it was “my version of the rope-a-dope.”

“I just knew once the cardio started to become a factor, he was going to look for a way out,” Jones said.

The two did touch gloves before the fight started. But there was no hug afterward. Actually Jones began celebrating before the bell rang in the fifth round and then threw two more punches when Cormier seemed to have his guard down. Cormier then followed up with punches of his own as the bell sounded. One of them nearly hit referee Herb Dean, who was trying to break up the action. Then Jones made an obscene gesture toward Cormier.

“After the bell rang, he snuck in two punches,” Jones said. “I don’t think any of them hit me. He almost hit Herb Dean. That’s why I gave him the ‘suck it’ sign, because he tried to hit me after the bell.”

Jones apologized for being “classless” in the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. But in the post-fight press conference, Jones was considerably less remorseful.

“I know if he would have won, he would have been up here talking all types of trash,” Jones said. “So I don’t feel sorry for him. This is combat.”