After retiring five years ago, Daniel Cormier's biggest rival has now been accompanied to make his exit out of sport.
The former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion was one of the first people to respond to the Dana White who announced the pension of Jon Jones.
Jones also spoke about his decision that marks the end of a long and frustrating saga at the top of the heavyweight division, with 'Bones' since UFC 309 in November.
In a video on his YouTube channel, Cormier Jones labeled a lender after the heavyweight champion chose to walk away instead of being confronted with interim, now undisputed, champion Tom Aspinall.
Although he still means the conviction that the consensus has damaged the greatest of all time his reputation in recent months, Cormier still respects his former rival for one reason in particular.
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Daniel Cormier respects Jon Jones as a competitor because of their second fight on UFC 214
In a recent interview with ESPN MMA alongside Brett Okamoto, Daniel Cormier claimed passionately that the general legacy of Jon Jones has been negatively influenced in recent months.
He stated that 'bones' it owed to the organization and Tom Aspinall to “drop that ladder” on his way to everything he has achieved in the Octagon.
Nevertheless, Cormier still spoke strongly about Jones when he thinks about his career and the gap he left in the sport.
“It's big. We are talking about a child that this thing started at 19, 20 years old. He has three different eras of heavyweights and light heavyweights overwhelmed … No one gets that amount of time at the top without the crowd catching, because if you are the best, everyone's training is to defeat you. Jon Jones could not only stay relevant, but also every time he put the foot in the eight.”
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Cormier further said that he will always respect Jones as a competitor because of their second meeting in the Octagon.
At UFC 214, Jones defeated his rival by putting him in the third round before the result was later destroyed into a NO match after the light heavyweight champion had tested positively for a drug test.
Knowing how good he took on that fight and the fact that it was still not enough to beat Jones is something Cormier gives his hat for.
“Apart from everything else, all things outside the Octagon, he won every time he was fighting a man, one-on-one and he defeated me in Anaheim, Brett. I can tell you this without a doubt. I defeated Stipe Miocic.
“That was the best I have ever been and he hit me and that is why I will always respect him because of his skills and what he did in the Octagon. In that eight-sided fence there was no one like him.”
Daniel Cormier thinks that Jon Jones will return to the Octagon after his retirement on 37
Although Dana White's announcement that Jon Jones said the UFC that he would retire is supported by 'Bones' on social media, Daniel Cormier is not so certain that this will be the last we see of the former champion.
He still believes that his former rival can be tempted to return, especially if the right opponent is available.
A matchup with Alex Pereira at Heavyweight is something that Jones has been back and forth all the whole whole with Tom Aspinall.
The warning from Cormier to Jones was that if he decides to come back, to someone other than Tom Aspinall will harm his public perception even more.
“I do and I think that will be a new misstep. That is another misstep … in terms of legacy, I hope this is because if someone gets that belt and he tries to come back, it will be a bad look.”