Before Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s rivalry took over as the most iconic feud in MMA, the title belonged to Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier. Their legendary beef began backstage at UFC 121 in 2010, where a seemingly harmless exchange sparked what would become one of the most heated rivalries in the sport’s history. It was there that 23-year-old ‘Bones’ told ‘DC’, “I bet you that I could take you down.” That single line planted the seed of a rivalry that, while still five years away from its first octagon clash, was already brewing beneath the surface.
At the time, both men were still on separate paths. Daniel Cormier was fighting in the heavyweight division, but in 2014, he made the move down to light heavyweight. His wins over Patrick Cummins and Dan Henderson earned him a title shot against reigning champion Jon Jones, originally scheduled to rematch Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 187. Their rivalry boiled over during the UFC 187 press conference at the MGM Grand, which escalated into an on-stage brawl that forced UFC officials and security to step in and separate them.
Eventually, they met inside the octagon. The two battled for five grueling rounds, and when the final bell rang, ‘Bones’ emerged victorious. However, that fight was only one chapter in a much larger saga. Years later, a more reflective Jon Jones began to view his past actions through a different lens. Now spending time in Thailand, Jones appeared on DeepCut with VicBlends and revisited that volatile era, describing it as “too dark for sports.”
During the interview, he recalled one particularly intense moment from that time, when he and Cormier were being interviewed separately by SportsCenter, but from adjacent rooms. Jones recounted,
“We got a leaked behind-the-scenes moment where I was literally telling him that I was going to kill him,” Jones recalled. “We thought the cameras were off and we were still live. And he was like, ‘Are you next door?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m next door.’ And I’m like, ‘You still there, pu–y?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m still here.’ He’s like, ‘I wish you would let me next door so I could spit in your face.’”
MMA: UFC 182-Jones vs Cormier-Weigh Ins Jan 2, 2015 Las Vegas, NV, USA UFC President Dana White separates Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier during the weigh in for their Light Heavyweight Title Bout at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena NV USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xJaynexKamin-Onceax 8308041
The idea of being spat on in front of media outlets didn’t sit well with the heavyweight champion. It triggered an extreme reaction, and Jones admitted he warned ‘DC’ that if he did it, he would “kill” him.
After that matchup, the Jon Jones–Daniel Cormier rivalry only escalated instead of cooling down. Things reached a boiling point again when the two met for a rematch at UFC 214, where ‘Bones ‘ once again came out victorious—this time with a vicious head kick that ended the fight and appeared to settle the score in one of MMA’s most heated rivalries. However, just a few months later, controversy struck.
Reports from the USADA revealed that Jon Jones had tested positive for Turinabol, an anabolic steroid. As a result, the promotion stripped ‘Bones’ of the title, and the win was overturned to a no-contest. Years later, the animosity between the two has cooled, and both men have moved on from their fierce rivalry. But when it comes to becoming friends, ‘DC’ has made it clear—he still has a few words of hesitation.
Is Daniel Cormier ready to bury the hatchet with Jon Jones?
Looking back, Jon Jones isn’t happy with how he behaved towards Daniel Cormier. Speaking about their rivalry, the New Mexican didn’t shy away from admitting, “It was stressful and that training camp took a lot of time and it probably took a few years off of our lives just operating out of so much hate.” Now, ‘DC’ and Jon Jones have moved forward on their own paths. Cormier is retired and works as an ESPN analyst and UFC commentator alongside Joe Rogan, while Jones continues to rule the UFC, now competing in the heavyweight division.
With over a dozen opponents defeated, Jon Jones appears more mature and focused on becoming a better person. Both fighters have come clean about their past, and they even offered condolences on social media when their parents passed away. Despite this low-key rivalry, the feud is still far from a happy ending. As ‘Bones’ once expressed, “Literally every time I see him, I try to give him a smile, I try to give him a handshake.”
However, Daniel Cormier seems to have moved on, but prefers to keep things loose and does not want to be friends with Jon Jones. In a Q&A session at UFC Fight Night last year, the former NCAA star said, “We aren’t great, and I don’t think that we ever have to be. I think people need to stop longing for the perfect happy ending. Guys don’t have to do what Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield did. It can be OK to just be OK with us being as we are.”
Reflecting on the intense rivalry between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier, would you like to see them working together someday, perhaps as part of the UFC commentary team? Share your thoughts below.
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