Several years worth of trash talk and buildup culminates Saturday at UFC 214 as Jon Jones returns to the Octagon for the first time in more than a year to face rival Daniel Cormier in an anticipated rematch for the light-heavyweight title.
It’s hard to remember a UFC rivalry that has been through as many trials (literally) and tribulations as Jones-DC.
So how did it all come to be?
Here’s a look back at the history between the two elite 205-pounders.
2013 – The genesis
It’s hard to believe this entire feud began with a simple misunderstanding. In 2013, Jones (the titleholder at the time) explained how the beef started.
“I met him, and I came up to him with a big smile on my face,” Jones told to Ariel Helwani. “He’s another black guy in the sport, and I felt the need to say hello to him, and I was just like, ‘Hey man, I hear you’re a great wrestler,’ and all this stuff, and he’s like, ‘Yeah, yeah, you don’t know who I am?’ I’m like, ‘No, I don’t know who you are, but my coaches were telling me that you wrestle on the Olympic level.’ And I was like ‘I bet you that I could take you down.’
“It was my way of trying to develop a new friendship, and he just took it so seriously, and he was just so offended that I didn’t know who he was, and from that moment on he decided that there was a beef between us.”
[relatedlinks]
August 4, 2014 – The fight before the fight
Fast forward to a UFC 178 press conference in Las Vegas. Originally billed as a rematch between Jones and Alexander Gustafsson, Cormier replaced the challenger after Gustafsson tore his meniscus. During press conference stare-downs you expect fighters to come face to face, even nose to nose at times, but never fully come to blows. Well, that’s what happened that day in the lobby of the MGM Grand.
Several days later, both men were set for a split-screen interview with ESPN to discuss the altercation. An off-air verbal altercation between the two was recorded and posted online. It ended up going viral. That video taught us everything we needed to know about how they really felt about one another.
Here’s the transcript from the heated exchange.
JJ: “Hey [expletive], are you still there?”
DC: “I’m here, I’m here. You are just the fakest person. I actually admire that you can actually be this fake, and like, when the TV comes on, how you can just change. It’s like you’re a chameleon. It’s awesome.”
JJ: “Hey, listen. I’m a professional. That fact that you’re a [expletive].
DC: “It’s unbelievable. It’s unbelievable.”
JJ: “The fact that you’re a [expletive] hasn’t changed, but I am a professional.”
DC: “It’s unbelievable how fake you can really be. Like, you are just such a [expletive]. My god, it is amazing. It is amazing. But, you know, hats off to you. You’ve got a great P.R. person, they do a great job with training you because you are just terrible. You’re the [expletive] scum of the earth. You are a terrible human being, but you can sure turn it on, huh?”
JJ: “Thank you.”
DC: “God, you [expletive]…I wish they would let me next door so I could spit in your [expletive] face.”
JJ: “You know I would absolutely kill you if you ever did something like that, right?”
DC: “You could never kill me.”
JJ: “Oh, I bet you I could.”
DC: “Then you should try, Jon. You really should try, Jon.”
JJ: “I would literally kill you if you spit in my face.”
DC: “Yeah, let’s try that, Jon.”
JJ: “Literally kill you.”
DC: “Let’s try that, Jon.”
JJ: “I’m not saying I would fight you. I said I would kill you if you did some silly [expletive] like that.”
DC: “Jon, do you think I’m just going to sit there and let you kill me, Jon? I mean really?”
Unfortunately, we would have to wait a bit longer to see them fight in the cage (fans of the rivalry have become used to that by now) because Jones sustained a leg injury in training and the bout was moved from UFC 178 to UFC 182.
January 3, 2015 – Jones 1, Cormier 0
If the first fight was a sign of things to come Saturday, then the pay-per-view price will be worth every penny. Their main event at UFC 182 was a five-round classic. A high-level contest full of clinches in the first three rounds, followed by a fourth round of heavy striking and a fifth of mostly grappling that saw Jones retain his belt by unanimous decision.
After the tilt, Cormier was clearly not pleased with the result. He was honest and his emotions started to show, which earned him a round of applause from the people in the press room.
Some people thought this was the end of their feud. Not so fast. Since then it has only escalated and gotten more personal.
January 6, 2015 – Jones goes to rehab after positive test
Just a few days after his victory, however, Jones sent shockwaves through the MMA world when he checked into a drug treatment facility after testing positive for cocaine. It was the start of an epic fall from grace for Jones.
April 27, 2015 – Jones’s biggest hit happens outside the cage
Troubles got worse for Jones when he was involved in a hit-and-run accident with a pregnant woman. He pleaded guilty but avoided jail time and the UFC suspended him indefinitely and stripped him of the championship. Jones had been scheduled to defend the title against Anthony Johnson at UFC 187, so Cormier stepped in as Jones’s replacement and fought Johnson for the vacant belt. Cormier submitted Johnson and immediately had his mind focused on one thing.
March 28, 2016 – More trouble behind the wheel for Jones
Video surfaces of Jones being pulled over in Albuquerque. He was accused of drag racing and given five citations, eventually pleading guilty to two minor traffic charges while the other three charges were thrown out by a judge.
Following their bout at UFC 182, Cormier’s and Jones’s stories were greatly different. Cormier was on the highest of highs as champion, while Jones reached rock bottom. The former champion was booked into an Albuquerque county jail after violating his probation.
April 4, 2016 – Another injury setback
Cormier-Jones II was booked for UFC 197, but this time Cormier would be sidelined. An injury to a ligament in his leg kept him off the card, forcing Jones to fight short-notice opponent Ovince Saint Preux for a new interim title the UFC decided to introduce. A unanimous decision saw Jones back on top as a champion, only this time the peak of the mountain was shared with Cormier. Though Jones made it clear he believes there’s only one true championship.
That win set up the rematch which was to take place at the historic UFC 200. Or so we thought…
July 7, 2016 – Jones tests positive…again
UFC 200 will forever go down as one of MMA’s biggest lost opportunities. A rematch between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz was originally supposed to headline the card. When that fell apart due to a feud between McGregor and the UFC, Cormier vs. Jones was booked. Sadly, it fell apart days before the event when Jones tested positive for estrogen blockers.
For the second time, the rematch was put on the back burner. If you thought MMA fans were sad when the news broke, no one was more upset than Cormier when UFC president Dana White told him what had happened.
Jones would eventually be issued a one-year ban for his United States Anti-Doping Agency violation. Cormier remained on the card, fighting and beating the legendary Anderson Silva, though he and the rest of the MMA world were left with a feeling of incompletion.
April 14, 2017 – ‘You have always done steroids’
A month before they got face to face at another press conference the rivalry once again found its way online, this time involving a discussion about Jones’s “steroid” problems after a fan told Cormier on Twitter he thought he would get KO’d by Jones.
May 14, 2017 – A heated start to the summer
The UFC’s summer kickoff press conference was the first time in more than a year the two were in the same room and it didn’t take long for the sparks to start flying. In fact, they started to fly even before the curtain was raised.
This would only be the beginning of a day loaded with not-so-subtle jabs at each other. It all started when Jones was asked if Cormier is a true champion.
July 26 2017 – The 206.2-pound champion of the world
This week at the official UFC 214 pre-fight press conference, Jones and Cormier engaged in some more verbal warfare.
Afterwards, Jones and Cormier shared an on-screen interview with FOX Sports to get some final words in. You know it’s a volatile situation when the current middleweight champion Michael Bisping can barely get a word in.
So here’s where we are now. One fighter is a win away from redemption, the other a win away one away from cementing his legacy among the all-time greats. UFC 214 also features championship fights Tyron Woodley vs. Demian Maia and Cris Cyborg vs. Tonya Evinger, plus Robbie Lawler vs. Donald Cerrone, so there are many reasons to be excited for the most stacked card of 2017. Nothing, however, is more tantalizing than the most personal UFC rivalry we’ve ever seen coming to a head.
