UFC legend Daniel Cormier has toned down his take on Jon Jones’ controversial decision to retire.
The MMA community is still in hot discussion over the significant development in the heavyweight division after Dana White announced that Jones had retired.
Jones’ avoidance of Tom Aspinall and unifying the heavyweight titles did not waver during a 19-month period of the weight class having two champions. That resulted in significant criticism and even a viral petition calling for the UFC to strip Jones.
And it wasn’t just the fanbase who became frustrated with the delay in Jones making his decision official.
Among the fighters and analysts who also took issue with the legend’s stance was Daniel Cormier, who gave an expectedly strong reaction to his bitter rival’s retirement.
Daniel Cormier makes U-turn on Jon Jones ‘quitter’ claim
The main takeaway was Cormier suggesting Jones “quit” by ending his lackluster heavyweight reign and retiring before fighting Aspinall.
But it hasn’t taken long for ‘DC’ to reconsider his view.
During a recent episode of his Good Guy/Bad Guy show alongside Chael Sonnen, Cormier admitted he had made a U-turn on his ‘quitter’ claim.
“My immediate reaction to Jon Jones was, ‘If Jon Jones doesn’t fight this guy, he quit.’ I said that because I thought he needed to fight this guy. I thought you always give the next guy the opportunity…he decided not to do that.
“I have softened over the last couple of days, because of everything that you start to look at overall in terms of Jon Jones’ career.
“I did give him his flowers in this regard — he’s spanned three generations, Chael. He went through that first generation, then he went through our generation, then he actually beat Dominick Reyes and Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos of the next generation, Ciryl Gane.
“Him and I have a whole history of ups and downs…but when you look at him overall, it was greatness from the moment he walked into the Octagon. How many people can have that level of greatness for that amount of time?”
Cormier insisted, however, that he won’t be changing his opinion on the disappointing way in which Jones handled the final months of his career in the sport.
Daniel Cormier will always respect Jon Jones for one reason
Cormier was undoubtedly the biggest rival of Jones’ lengthy career. In fact, not many feuds have become as heated as theirs did.
Despite that, though, ‘DC’ told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that he will always have respect for Jones when it comes to his in-cage abilities.
“Everything else aside, all the stuff outside of the Octagon, he won every time that he was put in a fight with a man, one-on-one and he beat me in Anaheim, Brett.
“I can tell you this without question. I beat Stipe Miocic, I became the Strikeforce heavyweight champion, UFC light heavyweight champion. I was never better than that time in Anaheim.
“That was the best I’ve ever been and he beat me, and because of that, I will always respect him for his skills and what he did inside the Octagon. In that eight-sided fence, there was no one like him.”
With Jones retired, the heavyweight division is moving on with Aspinall as its newly crowned undisputed king.