Prime vs. prime, UFC Champ Jon Jones says a fight with Daniel Cormier wouldn’t even be close.
The two-division UFC champions are considered among the best fighters to ever grace the Octagon, arguably none greater than Jon Jones who went on to defeat every opponent he’s come across aside from a disqualification result against Matt Hamill.
28-1 (1 NC) in his pro career, only a handful of fighters have pushed Jones to his limits, such as Alexander Gustafsson and Daniel Cormier, the two men ‘Bones’ entertained a rematch with.
Cormier lost to Jones twice, by decision at UFC 182 and by TKO at UFC 214 in 2017, which was ultimately overturned to a no-contest after Jones tested positive for the steroid Turinabol.
Putting up a much better fight in their rematch, Cormier never had the chance to fight Jones again and later moved to heavyweight where he became a two-weight world champion with a first-round KO of then champ Stipe Miocic the following year.
Years after Cormier’s retirement, the heavyweight crown now belongs to Jones, who likes his chances in a fantasy fight.
Jon Jones says he’d beat ‘peak’ Daniel Cormier worse than he did at light heavyweight
Similar to his light heavyweight career, Daniel Cormier had only lost to one man in the heavyweight division, that being Stipe Miocic in his final two fights at 40 and 41.
Cormier was at one point 15-0 as a heavyweight, capturing his second title at the age of 39.
In an interview with Geoffrey Woo, Jones was asked how a trilogy fight would’ve gone down between him and Cormier in their primes.
“Peak ‘Bones’ vs. peak DC at heavyweight?” Jones said.
“I believe I beat Daniel Cormier at heavyweight worse than I beat him at light heavyweight,” Jones claimed.
“I feel like my speed has transferred over in a way that his hasn’t. I think I beat him up pretty worse at heavyweight.
“I kick harder. I punch harder as a heavyweight, but I kick a lot harder. They’ve seen what my kicks did to him [in] the first fight,” Jones added.
Jon Jones is currently 2-0 in the heavyweight division with finishes of Ciryl Gane and Stipe Miocic.
Jon Jones called Daniel Cormier his ‘biggest rival’ and ‘motivator’
Whether you saw it as a knockout or a no-contest, Jones put his heated rivalry with Cormier to rest in their rematch at UFC 214.
Cormier and Jones were all tied up on the judges’ scorecards in the third round with Jones closing the show with a head kick and follow-up ground and pound.
More than 7 years after, Jones vs. Cormier is still considered one of, if not the greatest rivalry in UFC history, for their back-and-forth between fights.
While Cormier wasn’t exactly Jones’ toughest fight, the UFC Heavyweight Champion still commended DC as his ‘biggest rival’ in his post-fight interview.
“I wanna take this time to thank Daniel Cormier for being my biggest rival and motivator,” Jones said at UFC 214.
“Daniel Cormier, he has absolutely no reason to hang his head. He has been a model champion, a model husband, a model father, a teammate, a leader.
“I aspire to be a lot more like that man because he’s an amazing human being.
“Unfortunately, we are opponents, but outside of that, he is a true champion for the rest of his life,” Jones said of Cormier.