Jones vs Cormier is one of the most bitter rivalries in the recent history of mixed martial arts. It is clear that the rivalry went beyond simple competition. Both men disliked each other. Jon Jones himself admitted to disliking Daniel Cormier. The pair had two UFC fights, but these fights only added fuel to the fire of their rivalry. Without further ado, let’s dive into this heated rivalry between two MMA greats.
The Context of Jones vs Cormier
It is vital to provide the context behind the rivalry between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier. This will help clarify why their rivalry was so heated. Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier first fought at UFC 182 in early 2015.
By January 2015 when this bout took place, Jon Jones was the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion. Jones had defended the title a record seven consecutive times, most recently against future light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira. Initially, the UFC scheduled a rematch between Jones and Alexander Gustafsson for Jones’ next title defense..
However, Gustafsson suffered a knee injury and had to pull out of the fight. The UFC replaced Gustafsson with Daniel Cormier. Despite this, Jon Jones suffered a leg injury and pulled out of the fight against Cormier. The UFC rescheduled this fight and it took place at UFC 182.
The two of them engaged in heated trash talk prior to the bout. It’s clear that both fights disliked each other. Additionally, Jones tested positive for a substance known as benzoylecgonine. This is cocaine’s primary metabolite. However, the fight proceeded as planned since benzoylecgonine isn’t a banned substance in regards to out-of-competition testing.
Naturally, this trash talk only adds to the anticipation for the fans.
Jones vs Cormier 1
The first fight between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones happened at UFC 182 on January 3rd, 2015. Jones controlled the action throughout the fight and took Cormier down three times, becoming the first person to ever take down Cormier in mixed martial arts.
By contrast, Jones successfully defended Cormier’s takedown attempts. As we covered in our UFC statistics article, Jones has one of the highest takedown defense percentages in UFC history. As such, Jones won the fight by unanimous decision. He even won Fight of the Night for the fourth time in his career.
The fight itself isn’t controversial, since Jones won in a fairly straightforward manner. However, it is important to recall all of the heated trash talk that happened before this fight. The rivalry between Jones and Cormier would only intensify following Jones’ first win over Cormier.
The Aftermath of Jones vs Cormier 1
Many people know Jon Jones for his controversies in addition to his fighting ability. Following his victory at UFC 182, the UFC stripped Jones of the title due to a hit-and-run incident where Jones crashed his car into a pregnant woman’s car. Jones later fled the scene of the accident on foot.
Daniel Cormier later won the vacant UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 187 by defeating Anthony Johnson. The Jones-Cormier rematch was scheduled to happen at UFC 197, but Cormier suffered a foot injury and pulled out. In his place, Jones defeated Ovince Saint Preux by unanimous decision. This win made Jones the interim UFC light heavyweight champion and set up a rematch with Daniel Cormier.
Jon Jones Receives His First Suspension
However, instead, USADA removed Jones from the fight and suspended him for one year for a potential doping violation. A few days after this, the UFC stripped Jones of his interim title. Jones is the only UFC fighter ever to be stripped of a title on two separate occasions.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission also suspended Jones for one year. Despite this, the rematch between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier would finally take place at UFC 214 on July 29th, 2017.
Jones vs Cormier 2: Jones Reclaims His Title…Temporarily
UFC 214 was a highly-anticipated event due to its three title fights. This includes Jones vs. Cormier 2, naturally. Jones performed even better in his rematch with Cormier, winning the fight by third-round knockout to reclaim the UFC light heavyweight title. Jones even went on to praise Cormier and refer to him as a “model champion” in his post-fight Octagon interview at UFC 214.
The victory was short-lived, though. USADA flagged Jones for a possible doping violation. Jones then tested positive for an anabolic steroid known as Turinabol. After confirming these results, the California State Athletic Commission overturned Jones’ second win against Cormier and made it a no-contest.
Additionally, the UFC once again stripped Jones of the light heavyweight title. Many sympathize with Cormier considering Jones’ controversies and his failed drug tests.
Jones and Cormier’s Careers Diverge
Despite some speculation about a trilogy fight between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier, it never happened. Jones went on to reclaim the UFC light heavyweight title and continue to defend it until vacating it in 2020. After this, Jones moved up to heavyweight and submitted Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 to become the new heavyweight champion.
Meanwhile, Cormier moved up to heavyweight following one more successful light heavyweight title defense against Volkan Oezdemir. Cormier vacated the light heavyweight title and faced Stipe Miocic in an attempt to win a title in a second weight class. Cormier shocked the MMA world by knocking out Stipe Miocic in round one.
Additionally, Daniel Cormier fought well in the first three rounds of his rematch with Miocic. However, Stipe Miocic rallied in the rematch with Cormier using body shots to devastating effect and won by TKO in the fourth round. Miocic and Cormier fought in a trilogy bout at UFC 252 in August 2020. Miocic won by unanimous decision. Cormier hung up his gloves and retired from MMA following this loss.
Jones vs Cormier Was a Heated Rivalry
As two of the top fighters in the same weight class at the same time, a rivalry between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier seemed almost inevitable. However, it is clear that Jones and Cormier genuinely dislike one another as people. This adds to the heated nature of the rivalry.
The pre-fight press conferences showcased this dislike to the world. Additionally, Jones and Cormier got into a brawl in a hotel lobby prior to their first fight in 2015. The bad blood ran deep in this rivalry.
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