"I'll sign a release" - When Daniel Cormier offered to fight Jon Jones at UFC 200 despite 'Bones' failing USADA testÂ
Daniel Cormier was willing to fight Jon Jones at UFC 200 despite a failed drug test.
The rivalry between 'DC' and 'Bones' is among the greatest in MMA history. The two stars developed quite a feud heading into their first bout at UFC 182 in January 2015. They even got into a fight at a press conference leading into the event.
After five rounds of action, Jones handed the wrestler his first career defeat by unanimous decision. However, it was clear that the feud between the two wasn't close to over. After Jones was suspended for legal issues, Cormier won the light-heavyweight gold in his absence.
Eventually, Jon Jones returned to the roster and was booked to face Daniel Cormier in the main event of UFC 200. The two were fired up heading into the event, but their fight didn't happen. Just three days before fight night, Jones failed a USADA drug test and was pulled.
As a result, Anderson Silva stepped up to face the champion on short notice. 'The Spider' suffered a unanimous decision loss, but that fight was far from Cormier's decision. On UFC Embedded, 'DC' was seen discussing Jones' testing failure with Dana White.
There, Cormier pleaded with the promoter to let him fight his rival, despite his failed test. He stated:
"Come on man, come on. Oh man, I trained so hard. Like, is there anything I can do? I'll sign a release and we can just fight."
White sadly responded:
"I know, I'm so f****** sorry. [But we] can't do it."
Check out the moment below:
Did Daniel Cormier fight Jon Jones again?
While Daniel Cormier didn't fight Jon Jones at UFC 200, they did end up meeting the following year.
'Bones' tested positive for two banned substances. However, Jones only was suspended for around a year, as USADA found that the former champion had ingested the substances unknowingly.
As a result, he faced 'DC' again at UFC 214 in July 2017. Once again, the two put on an excellent back-and-forth fight. However, in round three, Jones landed a picture-perfect head kick that led to a knockout victory.
However, once again, Jon Jones failed a drug test, testing positive for the anabolic steroid Turinabol, and his victory over his rival was labeled a no-contest.
With Jones now on the backend of his career and Cormier in retirement, it's likely that this will be the last meeting between the two rivals.