Cormier backstage at the UFC. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC
Daniel Cormier surprised everyone by revealing his criteria for defining the greatest fighter of all time, leaving two of his main rivals out of the running. The former UFC double champion dismissed Jon Jones and Anderson Silva from the race for the title and pointed to an undefeated legend as his choice for the top spot.
In an interview with the YouTube channel ALF Global, the American explained that problems involving anti-doping tests weighed heavily in his decision to exclude the two former champions from his choices. Based on this, Cormier compared the resumes of two of the greatest athletes in history to determine his preference.
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“I don’t include Jones and Anderson Silva . I don’t think that if you have any kind of problem with anti-doping tests, you enter the GOAT discussion. For me, it’s between Khabib and GSP, but I think Khabib because he’s undefeated. Everyone has lost, but Khabib has never lost. Never losing is incredible, especially at the beginning of his career when he didn’t have such good striking and relied on wrestling,” said Daniel Cormier.
Undefeated was the main argument used by Cormier to break the tie in the dispute. Khabib ended his professional career with 29 wins and no losses, in addition to having won the UFC lightweight belt (up to 70,3 kg) and defended the title three times.
On the other side of the comparison, Georges St-Pierre finished his career with 26 wins and two losses. The Canadian was the welterweight champion (up to 77,1 kg) and also won the middleweight title (up to 83,9 kg), becoming one of the biggest names in the organization's history.
Cormier also had one of the most successful careers in MMA. The American was champion in the light heavyweight division (up to 93 kg) and the heavyweight division (up to 120,2 kg), in addition to having faced some of the biggest names in the history of the sport.
What was the Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier matchup like?
Cormier and Jones face each other tensely in the UFC. Photo: Getty Images/Kevork Djansezian/Zuffa LLC
The two were involved in one of the most intense rivalries in UFC history, facing each other twice. In their first encounter in 2015, Jones defeated his rival by unanimous decision. In the rematch in 2017, 'Bones' won by technical knockout, but the result was later changed to a no contest after the then-champion tested positive for a banned substance in an anti-doping test.
The rivalry between the two went beyond the octagon and was marked by numerous provocations, public arguments, and tense episodes over the years. Even after Daniel Cormier 's retirement , the relationship between them was never completely amicable.
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