Daniel Cormier heaps praise on Jon Jones' UFC legacy despite bitter decade-long feud

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Daniel Cormier has surprisingly lauded the achievements of Jon Jones as he put their decade-long rivalry to the side.

The legendary duo had two fights, both of which Jones won before the second was overturned for a failed drugs test. And even after retiring, Cormier has appeared to be annoyed by his rival whenever they have interacted.

However, in a new series of videos reviewing 2024, he has had to give Jones his flowers. He notes that the longevity of the two-weight champion’s top-level career makes him arguably the greatest fighter of all time.

Daniel Cormier compares Jon Jones to Tom Brady in terms of sporting greats

During a reunion episode of his ESPN show DC and RC, co-host Ryan Clark noted that Jon Jones is still a major player at the very top of his sport 13 years after winning gold for the first time. Daniel Cormier is a known rival of Jones, but had to laugh as he questioned how such a run has taken place.

“I don’t care about how you feel about him and I might not mess with the dude on that level,” Cormier began. “But how? I think he was the champion in 2011 for the first time. That’s a crazy thought that through all that, all those dudes, three generations of players.

“That’s kind of like Andrew Whitworth who played 20 years, he played for the Rams, he’s not going to be able to do this and get into the Hall of Fame for time served. It’s like Tom Brady playing through 30 years of football, three generations of players, at quarter back.

“This is not being a lineman, it’s not being an undercard guy. This is a main event guy who has been main eventing for 13 years, it really is an insane thought.”

Daniel Cormier says Jon Jones’ run of wins is ‘almost impossible’

This year, Jones headlined at Madison Square Garden, defeating Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 309. It was considered a major achievement given Miocic’s standing in MMA, where he is believed to be arguably the greatest heavyweight of all time.

Now, he moves on to Tom Aspinall, the hungry young interim champion, who emerges as yet another challenger after almost two decades in the sport. Clark asked Cormier how one can stay motivated as contenders continue to emerge, to which the former champion noted it was incredibly difficult.

Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC

“It’s almost impossible,” he continued. “Especially to do it for a long time. You’ll watch a guy like Kamaru Usman or Alexander Volkanovski where they just kind of go and they’re rolling, right? And it seems like they’re unbeatable.

“Remember we used to talk about Petr Yan like ‘oh my God he’s never going to lose’ and then somebody gets him. It’s like you’re up and you’re up and you’re the man laying in the beautiful house, but there’s a young man that doesn’t have what you have.

“And as you’re doing a lot and trying to still be the best, he’s doing a little bit more. Because he wants for what you have, you’re having a guy walking you down constantly, so it’s very difficult, but you have to continue to get better.”

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