Daniel Cormier & Anthony Johnson Come To Agreement About Jon Jones
Former UFC light heavyweight king Jon Jones once again finds himself in the hot-seat after being flagged by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) just two days out from his scheduled main event clash with Daniel Cormier at UFC 200, putting a huge dent in the UFC’s plans for the colossal card.
There may be a light at the end of the tunnel for the interim 205-pound champ, however, as UFC President Dana White stated that “it looks like [Jones] did not take the supplement that everybody thought he took” and that things “could look good for Jon Jones” if things continue to play out as they have.
White also began to float around the idea of the possibility of a title eliminator bout between heavy-handed No. 1-ranked Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson and Jones, to determine who will challenge current champion Daniel Cormier next:
“I’m in a weird place,” White said. “We saw that fight (between Cormier and Johnson) and it was a great fight. I’ve still got to talk to Joe Silva and see what he thinks, but I’m thinking maybe we do Anthony Johnson versus Jon Jones to see who gets to fight Daniel Cormier.””
During a recent appearance on UFC Tonight, courtesy of MMA Fighting, ‘DC’ believes that Jones has been ‘coddled’ too much throughout his recent trials over the past years, and revealed that he and Johnson came to an agreement that ‘Bones’ has to earn his way back into the title picture upon his potential return:
“You know what, man, I really worry about myself, but Anthony actually talked to me and said he doesn’t feel like Jon deserves anything,” Cormier said. “He goes, it’s time to stop coddling this kid, stop giving him things that he doesn’t deserve.
He feels like [Jones] should have to earn his way back, and you know what, I agree. I agree, I think I should be fighting ‘Rumble’ Johnson, but that’s between Anthony and Jon.
I don’t know what that does for me (if they fight). The only issue is it would make me have to wait for a long time if those guys go. The truth is, Jon’s not even able to fight yet. Jon’s not cleared.”
To those who believe Cormier and Johnson’s sentiments are derived out of fear, the former Olympian stated that couldn’t be farther from the truth as he simply just doesn’t trust Jones who has ‘burned’ he and ‘Rumble’ before:
“That is not fear,” Cormier said. “It is just Anthony and I have been burned by him, more than anybody else. And I just truly can’t understand how we could schedule another fight after (UFC 200), it being four times in two years.
He’s got some work to do, man. He’s got to gain some trust of his peers. We are his peers. We have to go in there and compete against him and we don’t trust him.”
Jones is currently facing the possibility of a maximum one-year suspension from USADA, and possibly more from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), but if the good news continues to pour in for Jones as it has these past few weeks we may see him back in the Octagon sooner than we all thought.
