Written by NEW YORK – Daniel Cormier has pulled back the curtain on what unfolded in the aftermath of the UFC 309 pre-fight press conference faceoff between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic.
The attitude between Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) and Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) has become more hostile as the days wind down to Saturday’s heavyweight title fight at Madison Square Garden (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+). Jones said the fight is now “very personal” to him after he thinks his opponent made a personal slight toward his family and called him a “b*tch” on the “Countdown” preview show, but Miocic thinks it’s an overreaction and claims he never spoke of Jones’ children.
Cormier, who has a deep history with both sides of the championship bout, is not surprised by Jones’ demeanor. He thinks “Bones” is the type to use anything he can as motivation.
“A lot of greats do (take anything as motivation),” Cormier told MMA Junkie on Friday. “He likes it. He operates well in that, too. He operated well in our series of fights and he doesn’t mind it. We just talked on the weigh-in show and he spoke about it was true – he didn’t make this up. He said, ‘I heard Stipe say it. I’m not lying.’ So in his mind it’s the absolute truth and he’s operating under the idea that Stipe Miocic insulted him, insulted his family and he wants to make him pay for it.”
Cormier said Jones might be pushing the wrong buttons in this situation, or perhaps the right ones. He revealed some backstage insight to Miocic after he left the faceoff with Jones, where he refused to shake hands and told him, “Don’t ever mention my kids.”
“He’s mad,” Cormier said of Miocic. “You can tell. When he got off of the stage yesterday at the press conference, Jon said, ‘Don’t talk about my children.’ And Stipe goes, ‘I did not talk about your kids’ and he was shaking his head. He went off the stage, ripped his mic off and told ‘Embedded,’ ‘Stop filming.’ He was so mad and upset.”
Ultimately, the fight week interactions between champion and challenge has Cormier very excited for what’s to come on Saturday. The matchup has been criticized for almost the entirety of the 20-month build, but now that we’re on the doorstep, Cormier thinks this was the right booking by the organization.
“For a while I thought, ‘These guys are forcing the fight. It shouldn’t happen.’ Now it should happen,” Cormier said. “As we’ve gotten here, it should happen. I’ve seen Stipe Miocic – it should happen. He looks great – great physical shape. Jon looks great. He’s lost some weight. I think you’re going to see two of the best guys in the best shape they’ve been in in a really long time compete for the most coveted prize in mixed martial arts.
“I don’t care about the popularity that some have for other belts. The most important belt in the world is the heavyweight championship, and we get two of the best fighters of all-time fighting for it on Saturday night. I can’t wait.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.