After Wednesday’s announcement that the rematch between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones will now be the new headliner for UFC 200, it didn’t take long for the two arch rivals to re-ignite their heated feud. Heavyweight champion Cormier fired first shots, as he took to Instagram and called Jones a “bum” immediately after the announcement. At yesterday’s UFC 200 press conference in New York, both men continued to exchanged bitter words.
“Last time, I foot swept you and held my hand on your head like you’re my b*tch,” Jones said. “And this is the guy who’s supposed to be the Olympian. Come on, man. DC, you suck, bro. You call me a bum. I beat you four rounds to one. It wasn’t even close. You’re not even my toughest opponent. You’re chump change.” (Transcription via MMA Fighting)
Jones even implied, he made Cormier “cry” during their first fight and predicted that he will cry again after their UFC 200 matchup.
Jones beat Cormier in decisive fashion in their first encounter at UFC 182 last year. But, when asked about what he wants to do differently this time, Cormier declined that he will make any adjustments for the rematch.
“I’m not changing anything,” Cormier said. “I’m going right at his ass. I’m not changing nothing. I will tell him right now, last time I didn’t take Jon down as many times as I wanted to. This time, they’re going to say fight, I’m going right over there to take him down. I’m going to hold his ass down for 25 minutes. I’m going to take him down and hold him down for 25 minutes.”
Heavyweight titleholder Cormier and interim champion Jones stepped in to unify their belts and replace the original headlining bout between Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor, who was pulled from the card after failing to attend various PR obligations. UFC 200 takes place July 9 at the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas, NV.