Daniel Cormier has offered some surprise backing to long-time rival Jon Jones after the latter’s recent bid for a unique moniker after his UFC retirement.
Akin to his lengthy enemy Jon Jones, Hall of Fame star Daniel Cormier is also a former two-weight champion in the Octagon, winning both light heavyweight and heavyweight gold during his memorable tenure.
- READ MORE — ‘If I really wanted to…’ Jon Jones blasts Daniel Cormier for UFC rival’s ‘rent free’ comments
And despite almost squashing their beef before Jones’ retirement earlier this year, Lafayette star Cormier has continued to find himself goaded by the outspoken Rochester native.
But off the back of a unique request from Jones, Cormier insists he is now a fan of the latest approach to marketing from the consensus greatest of all time.
Daniel Cormier backs Jon Jones’ ‘Forever’ champion bid
Hoping to secure himself on the impending UFC White House card next summer, Jones had his bid shot down definitively by Dana White, who questioned if he could trust the New Yorker to make it to fight night if booked.
And boasting his accolades and résumé in the Octagon earlier this month, Jones boldly claimed he should have landed the moniker as ‘Forever’ champion in his exit from combat sports.
Off the back of that claim, his long-time enemy Cormier admitted he’s a fan of the idea — albeit unlikely to come to fruition — paired with Jones’ approach to promotion in his retirement.
“Jon (Jones) wants to be called the ‘Forever Champion.’ He said that now he should be called the ‘Forever Champion’ because of all of his accomplishments in the UFC and how long it’s been,” Daniel Cormier said on an episode of Good Guy/Bad Guy.
“Now, Chael (Sonnen), this Jon Jones, I like. This, I like! I don’t like the whiny little b—-. I like this because you went through three decades of fighters.
“Now, are we going to call him the Forever Champ? No. But that, I kind of like.”
Daniel Cormier’s rivalry with Jon Jones
Hitting the forefront back in 2015, Cormier unsuccessfully challenged Jones for the undisputed light heavyweight crown at UFC 182.
And after an anti-doping violation scuppered their UFC 200 rematch, Jones finally returned to rematch Cormier in a title unification clash two years later.
Scoring an initial high-kick knockout win over the Louisianan to unify the belts, Jones once more tested positive for a banned substance, this time a turinabol metabolite, and was stripped of his crown.
- READ MORE — Jon Jones reacts to Daniel Cormier’s ‘insulting’ reason for excluding him from his MMA Mount Rushmore
Due to their terse relationship, Cormier and Jones are sworn enemies to this day, with the duo failing to ever put their historic rivalry behind them.