Company man Daniel Cormier came to the defense of Dana White after a series of leaked text messages revealed some unsavory comments the UFC CEO made about current heavyweight titleholder Jon Jones.
In 2014, the promotion was looking to book a light heavyweight championship bout between then-champion Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson. The contest would serve as a rematch of their first meeting in September 2013, a fight many consider to be one of the greatest 205-pound clashes in UFC history. However, Jones was embroiled in renegotiations with the promotion at the time and was disinterested in running it back with Gustafsson.
As part of the ongoing anti-trust lawsuit against the UFC, a text exchange between Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta was unearthed, revealing their frustrations over dealing with Jones.
“What’s up with Jones? Did he straighten up or is he still being a scumbag?” White texted then-UFC Chairman Fertitta.
“Still a douche, but we’re inching closer,” Fertitta responded. “Haven’t moved on money, but sent the letter with an ultimatum.”
“Awesome,” White responded. “F*ck that punk, Lorenzo. He needs to know we don’t need him, or he will f*ck us over more than he already does.”
‘DC’ Defends His Boss
Needless to say, fight fans were quick to slam Dana White’s comments regarding the man considered to be the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. But not everyone saw it that way, including UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier who came to White’s defense.
“Some of his text messages were leaked in regards to Jon Jones. They were very mean text messages. Not nice. But I may have a little bit of a different view of this than most,” Cormier told Ben Askren on his YouTube channel.
“You and I both own businesses. We’ve all had bad employees. There’s different levels, right? In our business, it’s being late, maybe not showing up on time, maybe not always being tapped in to the practices. With Jones, it’s about being at the fight, doing the promotion, being easier to work with.”
Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier are certainly no strangers to one another. Squaring off inside the Octagon not once, but twice. ‘DC’ came up short against Jones on two separate occasions, losing their meeting at UFC 182 via a unanimous decision. Cormier initially lost the rematch at UFC 214 via knockout, but the bout was later overturned to a no-contest after Jones tested positive for a turinabol metabolite.
“In those moments when you have an employee that isn’t working in the way that you think, you say stuff!” Cormier continued. “It’s like, you say things about an employee that isn’t doing the things that you want. Do you believe for a second that Dana didn’t say that to Jon’s face? There’s no way he didn’t!
“He told him the exact same thing to his face. Then he goes and he talks to his friend, who is also his business partner, about the situation and says the exact same thing. Is it really that big a deal? Some of the stuff I’ve said to other people about people that work for me, it’s kinda crazy!”
Jon Jones Responds to Daniel Cormier’s Comments
Getting wind of Daniel Cormier’s comments, Jon Jones offered a scathing response on social media.
“Never let a “bad employee” beat you up and take everything from you twice,” Jones wrote on X. “It’ll leave you bitter for a really long time evidently”
Never let a “bad employee” beat you up and take everything from you twice. It’ll leave you bitter for a really long time evidently
— BONY (@JonnyBones) January 18, 2024
Watch the full episode below:
