It’s DC’s Way or the High Way… The Heavyweight Champion of the World Feels No Need to Prove Himself… If Jones Wants to Make Money, There’s Only One Fight Out There For Him Now…
There aren’t that many real rivalries in MMA. You can list them on two hands: McGregor v Diaz, McGregor v Khabib, Dillashaw v Garbrandt, Rousey v Tate… there really aren’t that many more serious ones. But there is one: Jon Jones v Daniel Cormier. These two men despise each other and they’re not afraid to let the whole world know it.
Cormier is a very genial guy and a family man. So it’s quite shocking that he can get so worked up by one individual. Of course, when we talk about Jones, we’re talking about the man who beat Cormier twice, including the only knockout loss of DC’s career (albeit that was overruled to a no-contest).
Now though, there’s been a power shift and DC, the company man, is set to have more of a say in whether or not they have a trilogy fight. He’s the current heavyweight champion, while Jones is the 205lb champion. If they do rematch though, it will be on DC’s terms… and he’s in no rush to give his enemy a golden egg.
Of course he wants to fight me, he’s fought 3 times this year and I’m gonna make more this weekend than he will even if he fights again this year lmao. O, how times have changed!
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) August 13, 2019
Money Fight
Jones made headlines the other day by saying that he doesn’t think a trilogy fight will ever happen because Cormier isn’t going to go through the brutal process of cutting down to 205lbs. This is despite everybody – including Dana White – saying that a third fight would surely have to be at heavyweight, just to give it something fresh.
“Of course he wants to fight me,” Cormier gloated on Twitter. “He’s fought three times this year and I’m gonna make more this weekend than he will even if he fights again this year (lmao). O, how times have changed.”
Big Bucks
Cormier knows that right now he’s the one holding the cards. He went on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show and explained why Jones would want to take on DC again. It’s not surprising considering the lack of big names at light-heavyweight.
“Ultimately, for him to make the big bucks, we have to fight each other,” Cormier explained. “I’ve gotten to a point in my career now where the UFC takes such good care of me on the front side that I don’t have to sell another pay-per-view in my life. I want to, obviously, but I make so much money now on the frontside, it doesn’t really matter if I fight him.
“Before, I was like, ‘I need to fight Jones because I need to make money. I need to fight Jones because I need to legitimize myself.’ I don’t need to do that no more. I’m the heavyweight champ of the world, so I’ll make the determination of whether I’ll fight him or not again.”
Makes Sense
Realistically, this fight could go ahead, but it does seem most likely to happen at heavyweight. It would definitely generate more interest – especially if Jones was fighting for his second title in a different weight class.
But right now Cormier has to focus upon the dangerous threat of Stipe Miocic. That’s no laughing matter. The most successful heavyweight in UFC history is out for revenge.
