UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier came to Jon Jones’s defense after Dana White shut down his White House fight hopes.
Jon Jones reversed course on his abrupt UFC retirement when he announced his intention to return to the Octagon next year for the promotion’s planned event at The White House. A potential showdown between Jones and newly-crowned undisputed heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall was back on the table as Jones seemed serious about a comeback.
But UFC CEO Dana White shut down Jones’s plans to headline the promotion’s upcoming White House event at the UFC 318 post-fight press conference.
Daniel Cormier defends Jon Jones despite recent social media blowup
At the presser, White said he ‘can’t risk’ putting Jones atop the card due to the UFC legend’s past transgressions outside of the Octagon. Jones seemed to take White’s comments in stride, and remained optimistic about returning to the cage next year.
Amid White’s current hesitance to put Jones as the headliner of the White House card, Jones received a shocking defense from his all-time biggest rival.
During a recent episode of Good Guy/Bad Guy, Daniel Cormier shared a surprising take on White’s comments about Jones.
“The history of Jon Jones, him not doing it, is why Dana said that. But ultimately, and I just got to speak truth, in more cases than not, he has shown up,” Cormier said of Jones.
“In more cases than not, since that happened with [Chael Sonnen], he has showed up. When him and I were supposed to fight at UFC 200, it didn’t happen, and then UFC 214 he showed up and we fought. Outside of that, he’s kind of showed up every other time,” Cormier continued. “So they’ve given him opportunities even after he was told he’d never headline again…what if when you fade to black, he says ‘I’m done’, that’s the worry of putting that belt on him.
“Especially if Tom goes on a tear, wins two fights, and it’s like ‘Oh my god, Tom Aspinall is the next great UFC champion’, and then Jones potentially beats him and quits, that would be awful. Awful, awful, awful.”
Jones hasn’t fought since finishing Cormier’s three-time rival, Stipe Miocic, at UFC 309 in November. He and the UFC were in talks for months to make the Aspinall fight become a reality, but Jones’s retirement thwarted the fight and promoted Aspinall to undisputed heavyweight champion.
Cormier’s stance is especially surprising given Jones reigniting their feud in a recent social media rant.
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During the UFC 318 weigh-in show, Cormier raised eyebrows when he hinted at a dream fight with Jones at his house, saying he would want the opportunity to ‘kill’ his enemy. Jones didn’t take kindly to Cormier’s remarks and went off on his two-time UFC foe in a series of tweets.
In recent years, tensions between Jones and Cormier seemed to dampen down, especially after Cormier hung up the gloves in 2020. The two shared some cordial interactions while Jones was an active fighter, and during Cormier’s UFC analyst gig.
But, things have taken a turn between Jones and Cormier in recent days. Years removed from their last showdown in the Octagon, things remain tense between the two lifelong adversaries.