UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has formed quite the rivalry with former title holder Jon Jones. Now Cormier has come forward to say that he feels “dragged down” by his rivalry with the fighter.
Jones is the only competitor to ever earn a victory against Daniel Cormier, having bested the fighter back in 2015. Jones returned to rematch the champion in 2017, with the two facing off at UFC 214.
Jones knocked out Cormier for the title, but the victory was short lived. Jones failed a drug test for UFC 214, forcing officials to overturn the knockout victory into a no contest. Jones was stripped of his title once again and Cormier was reinstated as the champion.
The two fighters were initially set to have their rematch at UFC 200, rather than UFC 214. However, Jon Jones failed a drug test leading up to the event and was suspended for one year from the octagon.
Speaking at the UFC 220 post-fight press conference after successfully defending his title, Daniel Cormier offered his thoughts on possibly facing Jon Jones at some point.
“I’m just past it right now,” Cormier said. “Until he’s able to do what we want to do, and that’s fight, I’m kind of past it. I’m kind of a bit of this spot, when it comes to Jones. Competitively, all I want to do is fight him again. But at some point, it’s just like, ‘Man, is it ever going to be just a fight without nothing else?’
“And I don’t know if I can put myself through that again.” The champion continued. “I’ve done everything right. And I’ve just been dragged down by this guy constantly. So I’m not thinking about it. I’m going to do my thing for right now.”
