Daniel Cormier will be on the call for his old rival Jon Jones’ big comeback fight.
Jones returns to action for the first time in three years at UFC 285 opposite Ciryl Gane on March 4. In doing so, Jones moves up in weight to try and replicate Cormier’s success as a dual-division champion, fighting for vacant heavyweight gold.
With Cormier now retired from competition, he’s become a mainstay as a commentator for UFC PPV events. “DC” didn’t make the trip to Perth, Australia for the most recent PPV, but he’ll be back in his usual color commentary role for UFC 285 in Las Vegas, and he recently received Jones’ blessing via a tweet earlier this week.
“You guys know how I feel about Jones and how we have felt about each other in the past,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “But it leads me to this question: How do I take this? This particular tweet, which at times feels like a compliment, but also could be interpreted as a bit of a dig — considering at times, people call me biased in my commentary and all this other stuff. First, just for the record, I don’t really need permission to call someone’s fight.”
Jones gave Cormier props for his skills on the microphone in the tweet, welcoming the call from his old rival, and trusting that there won’t be any bias. Despite Jones’ comments, it’s not the first time Cormier has called one of "Bones'" returns.
UFC 197 in April 2016 saw Cormier continuing to get his feet wet as a commentator. Meanwhile, Jones got back in the octagon for the first time since being stripped of his title because of a hit-and-run incident involving a pregnant woman. Jones was originally supposed to have his rematch with Cormier on the night, but injury prevented Cormier from going through with things. Instead, Jones went on to defeat Ovince Saint Preux via a unanimous decision, becoming the new interim light heavyweight titleholder.
“I’ll be honest with you, it’s kind of nice hearing a fighter acknowledge, that even with our history, he believes that I can do him justice and do the job fairly — because I’ve done it before,” Cormier said. “It seems now that Jones is maturing. He seems to be taking a much different approach to the build to the fight and how he’s approaching everything. But it feels nice for him to acknowledge, ‘I think this guy could do me justice.’
“Yes, it is nice to hear him go, ‘Hey man, I believe Daniel Cormier can do the job.’ But I’m a professional. I have to be able to do the job. I don’t know that Jon Jones and I sit for an interview. I don’t know if we sit for a fighter meeting. I don’t know. I can’t answer those questions for you just yet, because I don’t know.”
Jones returns to action for the first time in three years at UFC 285 opposite Ciryl Gane on March 4. In doing so, Jones moves up in weight to try and replicate Cormier’s success as a dual-division champion, fighting for vacant heavyweight gold.
With Cormier now retired from competition, he’s become a mainstay as a commentator for UFC PPV events. “DC” didn’t make the trip to Perth, Australia for the most recent PPV, but he’ll be back in his usual color commentary role for UFC 285 in Las Vegas, and he recently received Jones’ blessing via a tweet earlier this week.
“You guys know how I feel about Jones and how we have felt about each other in the past,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “But it leads me to this question: How do I take this? This particular tweet, which at times feels like a compliment, but also could be interpreted as a bit of a dig — considering at times, people call me biased in my commentary and all this other stuff. First, just for the record, I don’t really need permission to call someone’s fight.”
Jones gave Cormier props for his skills on the microphone in the tweet, welcoming the call from his old rival, and trusting that there won’t be any bias. Despite Jones’ comments, it’s not the first time Cormier has called one of "Bones'" returns.
UFC 197 in April 2016 saw Cormier continuing to get his feet wet as a commentator. Meanwhile, Jones got back in the octagon for the first time since being stripped of his title because of a hit-and-run incident involving a pregnant woman. Jones was originally supposed to have his rematch with Cormier on the night, but injury prevented Cormier from going through with things. Instead, Jones went on to defeat Ovince Saint Preux via a unanimous decision, becoming the new interim light heavyweight titleholder.
“I’ll be honest with you, it’s kind of nice hearing a fighter acknowledge, that even with our history, he believes that I can do him justice and do the job fairly — because I’ve done it before,” Cormier said. “It seems now that Jones is maturing. He seems to be taking a much different approach to the build to the fight and how he’s approaching everything. But it feels nice for him to acknowledge, ‘I think this guy could do me justice.’
“Yes, it is nice to hear him go, ‘Hey man, I believe Daniel Cormier can do the job.’ But I’m a professional. I have to be able to do the job. I don’t know that Jon Jones and I sit for an interview. I don’t know if we sit for a fighter meeting. I don’t know. I can’t answer those questions for you just yet, because I don’t know.”
Comment