Daniel Cormier reacted to Jon Jones’ attempt to move past their dispute with an invite to commentate his comeback.
Former UFC two-division champion turned analyst Daniel Cormier shared a fierce rivalry with former light heavyweight champion Jones between 2015 and 2017. The pair’s dispute escalated to an infamous physical altercation at a presser and seemed to get more personal in the build-up to their first clash at UFC 182 in Jan. 2015. Jones handed Cormier the first loss of his professional career by unanimous decision. However, the rivalry was far from over as they continued to trade verbal jabs. They got booked for a rematch two years later in Jul. 2017 at UFC 214. Jones went 2-0 up over ‘DC’ with a finish but ultimately saw the result get overturned by the NSAC due to a failed drug test.
Earlier this week, ‘Bones’ heaped praises on Cormier’s abilities as a commentator and extended an invite to work on the mic for his comeback fight.
DC you are more than welcome to commentate at my fight, I think you are really good at what you do. I trust that you would be non-biased. All the best brother
— BONY (@JonnyBones) February 15, 2023
You still there?
— BONY (@JonnyBones) February 15, 2023
💀 lol https://t.co/iPnbstX8Cw
— BONY (@JonnyBones) February 15, 2023
Daniel Cormier reacts to Jon Jones praising his commentary skills
In a recent video uploaded on YouTube, Daniel Cormier shared his reaction to the high praise from his old adversary.
“How do I take this particular tweet, which at times feels like a compliment but also can be interpreted as a bit of a dig?” said Cormier. “At times, people call me biased in my commentary and all this other stuff… first, just for the record, I don’t really need permission to call someone’s fights. I’m not going to call [UFC producer] Craig Borsari and say ‘Hey Jon Jones said it’s okay for me to call the fight, so you guys can put me on the card. But I’ll be honest with you. It’s kind of nice to hear the fighter acknowledge that even with our history, he believes that I could do him justice and do the job fairly because I’ve done it before.”
Cormier believes Jones is taking a different approach
‘DC’ further expressed his excitement about the comeback of Jones after a three-year hiatus. He believes Jones will return with a different mindset as he appears to have grown.
“I did at the time when him and I were at the height of our engagements, rivalry, fights, when I called that Ovince St. Preux fight. I did him justice and he flipped me off at the end. It seems as though Jones now is maturing. He seems to be taking a much different approach to the bill to the fight and everything.”
“It feels nice for him to acknowledge that I could do him justice even with everything. But I don’t know why considering I felt like I did him justice in the first fight. But ultimately, it’s about him and this undertaking, finally going up to fight at heavyweight. Honestly, it has the potential to be a crazy fight.”
Jones is scheduled to face former interim champ Ciryl Gane in the headlining bout of UFC 285 on Mar. 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Although the UFC has not yet announced the commentary team for UFC 285, it is expected that Jon Anik, Joe Rogan, and Daniel Cormier will be part of it. However, Cormier has been previously accused of showing favoritism towards his friends and teammates, which has drawn criticism from some fans. If he decides to join the commentary team for the Jones fight, his performance will be closely monitored. Nevertheless, Cormier’s vast experience and expertise in the field of MMA make him a valuable asset to any commentary team.
