Daniel Cormier just can’t let go.
Nearly eight years removed from his last fight with Jon Jones, ‘DC’ is still denying ‘Bones’ his GOAT status. During a recent Q&A session while in Sydney, Australia for Saturday’s UFC 312 pay-per-view, Cormier momentarily gave the undisputed heavyweight champion his roses before promptly taking them back and stomping all over them.
“You really can’t deny his greatness, right? Look at what he has done,” Cormier said. “The guy has really fought through three generations of fighters. He fought that early generation with (Lyoto) Machida and them. He went through my generation, and now he’s fighting a whole other generation of guys.
“So yeah, of course, he’s one of the greatest fighters of all time. But when you do dirty sh*t, you don’t get to be called the greatest of all time.”
Daniel Cormier gives his take on the Jon Jones GOAT conversation:
“Of course he’s one of the greatest fighters of all time. But when you do dirty sh*t, you don’t get to be called the greatest of all time.” pic.twitter.com/Ox0eIbygAc
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) February 7, 2025
All the “dirty sh*t” Cormier is referring to is far too much to cover in a single article, but Jones’ history of drug and domestic abuse is well-documented. Jones was also hit with a pair of doping violations between 2016 and 2017 and charged with two misdemeanors after he allegedly threatened to kill a drug testing agent during a house call in early 2024.
Dana White, on the other hand, sees things much differently.
The UFC CEO Disagrees with Daniel Cormier on the Matter of Jon Jones’ GOAT Status
While ‘DC’ thinks all the drug use and drama should disqualify ‘Bones’ from being a certified GOAT, the UFC CEO argues that Jones’ world-class work inside the Octagon is made even more impressive by his debaucherous lifestyle outside the cage.
“[Tom Aspinall] said Jon Jones doesn’t deserve to be the greatest of all time because of the drugs issue in his past,” White said in an interview with Piers Morgan. “That I disagree with a hundred percent… When you think about Jon Jones and how good he really is, then you think about the lifestyle he was living outside of the Octagon, it actually makes it more impressive.”
