Daniel Cormier Admits Jon Jones Beat Him at His Best

Daniel Cormier will always respect former foe Jon Jones’ mixed martial arts career. 

Cormier and Jones shared one of the greatest rivalries in Ultimate Fighting Championship history. While Cormier hung up his gloves in 2020, Jones returned after a three-year hiatus in 2023 for a controversial heavyweight title reign. “Bones” finally retired on Saturday amidst immense criticism for stalling the division and refusing to fight interim champ Tom Aspinall. 

Cormier weighed in on Jones’ retirement, paying his respect to a legendary career. Cormier initially challenged Jones for the light heavyweight title at UFC 182, losing a unanimous decision in the January 2015 bout. They fought again at UFC 214, and while Cormier suffered a third-round stoppage loss, it was later overturned to a no-contest after Jones failed a drug test. Though Cormier was a two-division UFC champion, he believes he was at his best when he fought Jones.

Daniel Cormier Says There Was No One Like Jon Jones

“Everything else aside, all the stuff outside of the Octagon, he won every time that he was put in a fight with a man, one-on-one,” Cormier told ESPN. “And he beat me in Anaheim... I can tell you this without question. I beat Stipe Miocic, I became the Strikeforce heavyweight champion, UFC light heavyweight champion. I was never better than that time in Anaheim. That was the best I’ve ever been and he beat me, and because of that, I will always respect him for his skills and what he did inside the Octagon. In that eight-sided fence, there was no one like him.”