Dana White: We Might See Third Fight Between Jon Jones And Daniel Cormier At Heavyweight
Bitter rivals former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and current two-division champion Daniel Cormier have met twice at 205-pound title fights, with ‘Bones’ winning on both occasions, first via unanimous decision back in 2015, and the second via head kick knockout in a rematch at UFC 214 last year.
However, Jones UFC 214 finish over the Cormier was overturned to a “no contest” when former champion flunked his mandatory USADA drug test. Due to that ‘Bones’ was stripped of his belt as well as indefinitely suspended and Cormier reinstated as champion.
In Jones absence, Cormier went on to defend the title against Volkan Oezdemir earlier this year then made history after defeating then-champion Stipe Miocic to score the heavyweight title and become just the second fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two weight divisions. He’s expected to meet Brock Lesnar in a lucrative super-fight sometime early 2019.
Most recently, Jones received a reduced 15-month suspension by an arbitrator, that means the former 205-pound champion will be eligible to compete as soon as Oct. 28, 2018.
Not long ago, Jones expressed his desire to move to heavyweight and challenge Cormier. ‘Bones’ said this would be a bigger challenge but he knows how to beat him.
Cormier who said recently at UFC Tonight studio that he already moved past Jon Jones drama and looking forward to Brock Lesnar’s lucrative payday.
Now Jones is clear of USADA suspension, and many are pining for a third fight between two rivals, especially after the recent back and forth on social media.
Even UFC head honcho Dana White said, this trilogy could very well happen and that interestingly at heavyweight.
“The hatred is real with these two, it’s unbelievable,” White told TMZ Sports. “I would like to see it, I think the fans would like to see it. What would be interesting is, we might see it at heavyweight. I’m gonna do whatever ‘DC’ wants to do. I’m gonna do everything in my power to make that man happy.”
Cormier’s next title defense will be at heavyweight in a massive pay-per-view (PPV) fight against Brock Lesnar early next year, after that “DC” to retire. The biggest concern here is that Lesnar, who also flunked the USADA drug test still does not have a UFC contract. Currently, he’s under drug testing pool before he’s eligible to return to Octagon.
In case, Lesnar failed to meet the requirements; the next very obvious candidate is Jon Jones, but former champion Stipe Miocic might have to say something, as he’s looking for a rematch with Cormier as well.
Let’s see how things play out until then.
