Jones and Cormier will face each other again this Saturday (Photo: Reproduction Twitter ufc_brasil)
Daniel Cormier e Jon Jones This Saturday (29), they make one of the most anticipated rematches of recent times in the main fight of UFC 214. The two faced each other in January 2015, when then-champion Jones took home a unanimous decision over the current belt holder light heavyweight Cormier. After the duel, “Bones” got involved in trouble outside the Octagon and ended up losing the title, now in the hands of his biggest rival. However, the story of enmity between the two did not begin there.
See too
Since 2010, when DC was still a Strikeforce heavyweight and “Bones” had just become world champion by dethroning the Brazilian Mauricio Shogun, fighters don't fight each other. SUPER FIGHTS prepared a special that breaks down the rivalry between Cormier and Jones step by step.
The last chapter will be written this Saturday, with REAL-TIME monitoring, videos and photos of the main fights of UFC 214. The event will also feature two other title fights: the champion Tyron woodley is challenged by Demian Maia, While Chris Cyborg and Tonya Evinger face off for the vacant women's featherweight title. But since the subject is Cormier x Jones, let's look at the five chapters of the rivalry between the two.
1 – The first meeting:
In 2010, when Daniel Cormier was still a heavyweight newly arrived at Strikeforce and Jon Jones already a UFC world champion, the two met backstage at UFC 121. At the time, DC would be Cain Velásquez's corner, who he faced and beat Brock Lesnar for the Ultimate heavyweight belt at this event. “Bones” started the conversation with Cormier with a joke that went down badly with his future rival.
Jones said, jokingly, that he was betting he could take down DC, known for having placed fourth in the 2004 Athens Olympics in wrestling. Cormier didn't like what he heard and was even more offended when “Bones” said he didn't know him. The former champion himself detailed the meeting in an interview with the program The MMA Hour, in 2013.
“I met him and arrived to talk to him with a big smile. He's another black guy in the sport and I felt the need to get to know him better. I just said this: “Hey man, how are you? I heard you're really good at wrestling” and all that and he said, “Yeah, yeah, don't you know who I am?” And I told you that I didn't know, but that my coaches had told me that you had an Olympic level in the sport. And he said, “I bet I could put a takedown on you.” It was my way of starting a new friendship and he took it all so seriously. He just decided right then and there that we weren’t going to be friends and that we were going to have a problem,” Jones described.
2 – Scheduled fight and fight at the press conference
After retaining his title with spectacular victories over Rampage jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad evans, Chael Sonnen, Alexander Gustafson e Glover Teixeira, “Bones” saw his new enemy capture the Strikeforce heavyweight GP and move to the UFC, first winning Roy Nelson e Frank mir in the heavyweights and then overcoming Dan Henderson and Rashad Evand at light heavyweight.
Finally, DC was accredited to challenge Jones and the two were scheduled to fight at UFC 178, scheduled for October 2014. After months and months of provocations between the two, they came face to face at the press conference to promote the event, two months before . During interviews with journalists, the two exchanged accusations and insults and, when it was time to face each other, time closed for good.
Jones put his forehead on DC, who didn't like it and pushed him by the neck. Angry, the then champion attacked his rival and Dave Sholler, UFC press officer and responsible for mediating the fights that day, was unable to contain him. A huge mess broke out and the two quickly exchanged blows before security guards intervened. After the fight, however, Jones was injured and the duel was postponed until UFC 182, in January 2015.
3 – The first fight
Jones falls Cormier (Photo: Reproduction Facebook Jon “Bones” Jones)
Jones and Cormier finally faced off in Las Vegas, in the first event of 2015. Despite Cormier's Olympic wrestling pedigree, Jones lived up to what he said at the beginning of the story between the two and put him down more than once. DC also took down the champion, but didn't do enough to remove him from the throne. By unanimous decision, “Bones” kept the belt, complete with provocations after the fight.
Cormier admitted the blow he suffered from the first – and so far – only defeat of his career and was caught crying backstage at UFC 182. But Jones' problems outside the octagon gave him a second chance.
So absolute among light heavyweights, Jon Jones, who had previously been caught in an out-of-competition test with cocaine in his system, ended up involved in a traffic accident, when he ran a red light and collided with a pregnant woman's car. Although the victim suffered “only” a broken arm, “Bones” was arrested, as it was found that he had drugs in his system. With this confusion, Ultimate took away his title and put the belt up for grabs again at UFC 187, when Anthony Johnson, who would be “Bones’s” next challenger, ended up submitted by Cormier, the new light heavyweight champion of the world.
4 – Rematch canceled at UFC 200
Expected rematch for UFC 200 did not happen (Reproduction Facebook Daniel Cormier)
While Jones dealt with legal problems in his personal life, Cormier was challenged by Alexander Gustafson at UFC 192 and, after having problems with the Swede, ended up turning the fight around and keeping the belt in a spectacular fight. The rematch with Jones would take place at UFC 197. However, DC suffered an injury and the interim title was put up for grabs: at the time, “Bones” overcame Ovince St Preux after 14 months outside the octagon with below average performance.
Even so, as interim champion, Jones won the right to challenge his arch-rival, in a fight at the historic UFC 200. Two days before the event, however, the former champion was caught in an anti-doping test and forced to withdraw from the duel. Cormier then took Anderson Silva, who offered to “save” the show and won by unanimous decision. “Bones” managed to prove that he had been caught doping by using a contaminated sexual stimulant and had his sentence reduced to one year.
5 – Accusations and insults
D. Cormier (left) and J. Jones (right) fight at UFC 214 (Photo: Reproduction Youtube UFC)
During this period, DC returned to defend his belt, submitting again Anthony Johnson. The stage was set for the rematch to finally take place. Before the two faced each other at UFC 214, however, accusations from both parties and insults took over the promotion.
The current champion accuses his enemy of having used anabolic steroids throughout his career and not just at UFC 200. Jones points the finger in Cormier's direction, accusing him of having rigged his own weigh-in at UFC 210, when DC was caught leaning on a towel to take some of your own weight off.
Through social media, insults were the focus, with the two exchanging furious messages all the time. While Cormier called his rival a “broach”, Jones reciprocated, saying that DC was just a “fat, bald guy”. In the end, what counts is the end result. So, who comes out on top this Saturday?
Comments