Even with his rematch with Stipe Miocic looming, UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier can't escape questions about a potential third superfight with light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Ahead of UFC 241, Cormier was asked about his rivalry with Jones and if he still has interest in fighting him.
“When it comes to Jones, I know now with all that I’ve accomplished, I don’t need that fight,” Cormier told MMA Fighting. “I’ll be fine regardless but it will be something we revisit, me and my team, my management and everybody else and we’ll see if it’s something we want to do. Ultimately it will be my decision."
“Things are different. I feel like Jones is competing so many times because he has to try and one, regain the faith of the fans, but also retake his place in the sport and I did that," Cormier continued. "My place is secure with no question marks, no issues in regards in what I’ve done. It would ultimately be up to me to see what I want to do.”
Cormier has fought Jones twice in his career and lost both times; however, their most recent fight — in which Jones knocked out Cormier — was overturned to a no contest after Jones tested positive for a steroid metabolite turinabol.
Cormier defended the light heavyweight belt once more following his fight with Jones before moving up to the heavyweight division and winning the belt from Stipe Miocic. Cormier relinquished the light heavyweight belt a day before UFC 232, allowing Jones to recapture it with his knockout of Alexander Gustafsson.
“I think at this point in my career and my life, if you ask me these questions three years ago in 2015 after I lost to him the first time, I’d get all kinds of fired up about everything Jon Jones. Now I’m at a different time in my life,” Cormier said. “Maybe I’ve lost faith in the honor of the sport because I feel that if we fight again, at the end of it win or lose, something extra will always be tied to it and I’m not talking about past interactions. I’m talking even after this next one, something will happen and it will just ruin it. Even after our last fight, I was ready to move on. Like OK, you got me and look what happened. I guess I just lost faith in everything.”
While it's exciting to think about a possible third fight between Cormier and Jones, the current heavyweight champion is currently focused on his upcoming fight against Stipe Mioici on August 17.
“Right now I’m so focused on Stipe Miocic because here’s the deal. At 205 [pounds], I’m not fighting guys like Volkan Oezdemir anymore, no disrespect to Volkan or Anthony Smith or Thiago Santos. I’m fighting the greatest heavyweight of all time,” Cormier said. “I think I need to be solely focused on that right now.”
Regardless of the outcome at UFC 241, the prospect of a third Cormier-Jones fight will surely intrigue fans. Do you want to see Cormier fight Jones one more time before retirement?