Jon Jones Reveals How Daniel Cormier Inspires Him
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones may have not always seen eye-to-eye with Daniel Cormier, but he certainly draws inspiration from the former light heavyweight and heavyweight champion.
Speaking to media this week, Jones explained that he’s inspired by “DC” to be just as dominant when he’s 40-years-old, winning championships and beating competition far younger than him. (H/T MMA Fighting)
“My goal is just to be here for an extremely long time,” Jones said. “A very long time. I want to be here for the whole next decade and I want to be the champion for this next decade. I look at Daniel Cormier as an inspiration.
“For him to be champion at 40 years old, dominating guys much younger than him. He lets me know if I do the right things and really take care of myself, there’s no reason why we can’t keep up with this next generation of fighters, this next decade of fighters. That’s the goal. Thank you for that motivation, Daniel Cormier.”
Jones and Cormier have fought twice before. Their first meeting came in January of 2015. Jones and “DC” headlines UFC 182, where “Bones” took home a unanimous decision win to retain his light heavyweight title. They rematched in July of 2017 to headline the UFC 214 pay-per-view (PPV). There, Jones knocked out Cormier in the third round with a head-kick to dethrone the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) product from the 205-pound mountain.
However, Jones later ran into some United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) trouble, and was stripped of the title, his win overturned to a No Contest, and the belt was returned to Cormier. Now, years later, Jones has reclaimed the light heavyweight title, and Cormier has had a run as heavyweight champion, now seeking a rematch against Stipe Miocic, who finished him last year to win the title.
Jones, on the other hand, defends his light heavyweight strap tonight (Sat. February 9, 2020) from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas in the UFC 247 PPV main event. He’ll take on undefeated knockout artist Dominick Reyes.
What do you think about Jones’ comments about Cormier?
