Written by Daniel Cormier | Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
Daniel Cormier has no interest in reigniting his feud with Jon Jones.
“Bones” was recently responding to fan questions on YouTube when he was asked how he thought he would fare against Cormier if they both met at heavyweight in their primes. Cormier and Jones had two memorable battles at light heavyweight, both of which were won by Jones (their second meeting was overturned to a no-contest when Jones later tested positive for a banned substance).
Having added the UFC heavyweight title to his trophy case, Jones expressed confidence that he would not only defeat Cormier again, but it would be “worse” than when he beat Cormier at 205 pounds.
During an ESPN segment promoting the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, Cormier addressed Jones’ comment and was bewildered at the topic even coming up.
“Jon Jones, when I was actively fighting said, ‘I would not fight Daniel at heavyweight because it gives him an advantage. That’s where he’s best at,’” Cormier said. “I’m 46 years old, I am retired, I swing a golf club in my free time. He’s out of his mind.”
Cormier isn’t wrong.
Back in 2019, Jones had said in an interview with BT Sport that he had no interest in fighting Cormier at heavyweight because he felt Cormier would be bigger and stronger in that scenario.
“Daniel Cormier is a special athlete and everyone can be beat,” Jones said. “I think my greatest chance of losing would be to a guy like Daniel Cormier, with giving him a power and strength advantage over me, it just doesn’t make sense.
“Right now I make light heavyweight very easily and it just wouldn’t make no sense to fight a guy who I think technically [is] on your level, and to give him a size advantage, I’m not doing it. I’m not doing it. I’m sure my fans don’t like to hear me talk like that, but that’s just me being a realist and being respectful to Daniel’s abilities.”
Cormier spoke further about Jones’ comments on his Good Guy / Bad Guy podcast with Chael Sonnen.
“He actually said it,” Cormier said. “He was like, ‘I wouldn’t fight Daniel at heavyweight.’ This was when I was actively fighting. And again, Jon and I’s rivalry is dead, it’s over, I don’t fight anymore. But come on, what are we doing?”
TOP STORIES
FIGHTS. Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira headlines UFC 317 with a vacant lightweight title on the line! Islam Makhachev moving on to welterweight to fight Jack Della Maddalena! Dricus du Plessis steps into the cage with the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319!
Robbery? Did Aimeann Zahabi get away with one against Jose Aldo at UFC 315? Check out our official Robbery Review.
Happy. Jon Jones is living his best life, so take that, HATERS.
Slaphappy. Picture this: Paige VanZant. Power Slap world champion.
Free. Bantamweight star Patchy Mix is no longer signed to PFL.
Shame. Olympic champion Kyle Snyder literally caught with his pants down in prostitution sting.
Harsh. Dricus du Plessis calls Bo Nickal a quitter.
Hello Again. Brad Tavares is back in the UFC after barely giving us a chance to miss him.
VIDEO STEW
MMA Fighting reacts the wave of fight announcements.
Max Holloway and Israel Adesanya UFC 315 reactions.
Demetrious Johnson and Tim Welch break down Jack Della Maddalena’s winning strategy.
Michael Morales headlines UFC Vegas 106 this Saturday.
FLAVOR IN YOUR EAR
Fighter vs. Writer. Matt Brown defends Belal Muhammad’s strategy despite the loss and shares his thoughts on how new champion Belal Muhammad might fare against Islam Makhachev.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Shade.
On June 28, another dream will come true. I’ll be the champion of the lightweight division. Charles, my apologies in advance… I’m just fighting for my dreams. It’s unfortunate that Makhachev ran away. 17-0 pic.twitter.com/YSutHz4U2h
— Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) May 13, 2025
A fair, unbiased appraisal.
thoughts?! ufc317 pic.twitter.com/CHhzUwgduO
— Renato Moicano (@moicanoufc) May 13, 2025
Someone step up.
One more time, if Jones dont fight Tom, As always, im 100% in. Put me inside that cage against the champion, i’m the only one who offers dangerous for him. Forget about Gane or Volkov, both are ducking me, im fresh and hungry for this more than anyone
Poster: @luis_coutinho pic.twitter.com/Nw0QnLZPe8
— Jailton Almeida “Malhadinho” (@Malhadinho_UFC) May 13, 2025
They love football in Spain.
Former UFC champion Ilia Topuria wore a Jayden Daniels jersey in the trailer for the first-ever NFL game in Spain pic.twitter.com/Eq4Q6T9iQC
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) May 13, 2025
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to me!
Here they are 33! pic.twitter.com/7RBEJCtUzT
— Sergei Pavlovich (@SPavlovich13) May 13, 2025
Preach.
“This is the toughest tournament in all of sports.”@ChaelSonnen speaks on why “The Ultimate Fighter” is so important
Season 33 premieres on May 27th at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN 2/ESPN+
( @UFC) pic.twitter.com/2ir62SWHl0
— First Take (@FirstTake) May 13, 2025
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Jack Della Maddalena (18-2) vs. Islam Makhachev (27-1); TBD
Quillan Salkilld (8-1) vs. Yanal Ashmouz (8-1); UFC 316, June 7
Ilia Topuria (16-0) vs. Charles Oliveira (35-10, 1 NC); UFC 317, June 28
Alexandre Pantoja (29-5) vs. Kai Kara-France (25-11, 1 NC); UFC 317, June 28
Paulo Costa (14-4) vs. Roman Kopylov (14-3); UFC 317, June 28
Beneil Dariush (22-6-1) vs. Renato Moicano (20-6-1); UFC 317, June 28
Derrick Lewis (28-12, 1 NC) vs. Tallison Teixeira (8-0); UFC Nashville, July 12
Shara Magomedov (15-1) vs. Marc-Andre Barriault (17-9, 1 NC); UFC Abu Dhabi, July 26
Asu Almabayev (21-3) vs. Ramazan Temirov (19-3); UFC Abu Dhabi, July 26
Nikita Krylov (30-10) vs. Bogdan Guskov (17-3); UFC Abu Dhabi, July 26
Ibo Aslan (14-2) vs. Billy Elekana (7-2); UFC Abu Dhabi, July 26
FINAL THOUGHTS
Welp, our UFC 317 questions were answered and I don’t think most fans should be pleased with Uncle Dana’s announcements. Things are happening!
EXIT POLL
If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKlee or @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and like us on Facebook.