Jon Jones : No one should ever question ‘classy’ Daniel Cormier’s legitimacy as UFC champion during my absence
One of the most bitter rivalries in all of sports is finally over.
After Jon Jones knocked out Daniel Cormier in the third round of last night’s (Sat., July 29, 2017) UFC 214 pay-per-view (PPV) event in Anaheim, California, “Bones” took it upon himself to congratulate “DC” on being a great rival and champion.
This, despite the fact that the two had been going at it for years now, getting into pre-fight brawls, insulting each other with sheer hatred throughout the course of that time. For Jones, though, the win was a perfect time to put everything behind him, try to call a truce between the two and commend Cormier for the things he’s done.
Something that simply seemed impossible to happen given their rocky past and Jon’s comments after their UFC 182 fight, where he wished “DC” was somewhere crying. And during the post-fight press conference (see it), Jones further talked about his spontaneous cheer to Cormier, and finally admitted that he was a true champion and no one should ever question that.
“I’ve always felt that way about Daniel. He’s a pretty classy guy. He’s a guy to be respected,” said Jon. “Stand up champion, model champion. But, unfortunately I came into this game at a young age with big ideas. And despite how much of a great person he is, there is no mercy in combat,” he added.
Indeed, Jones showed his foe no mercy in what was truly one of the better performances of his career, especially coming after a year-long layoff.
“I have to do what I have to do, it’s either me or him. So, what happened happened. But, He should be respected and I don’t think he should ever be questioned whether he was a true champion or not in my absence,” added Jon, who constantly ridiculed “DC” prior to the fight for claiming to ba true champion without ever getting a win over him.
“He fought two of the toughest guys in the division and won. He carries himself like a champion and I think that should be recognized,” concluded Jones.
Despite Jon’s attempts to make peace with “DC” inside the Octagon, Cormier was having none of it. Of course, that was to be expected, as Daniel’s mindset wasn’t right shortly after getting knocked out, as he was clearly still feeling the effects of the several blows to the head.
Nevertheless, it seems that the biggest rivalry in combat sports is now over, as Jon has his sights on bigger things.
To hear more from Jon’s post-fight media scrum via Submission Radio click play in the embedded video below:
For full UFC 214 play-by-play results and fight coverage click here.
