Daniel Cormier says Jon Jones ‘lost his mind’ about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s GOAT status
Jon Jones had been quite active on Twitter in the week Khabib Nurmagomedov announced his retirement and was ranked as the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in UFC.
The former light heavyweight champion started out with congratulating Khabib. However, over the next few days, he replied to a number of his followers' tweets, both in support of him and against, trying to establish that he was the real GOAT in UFC.
Speaking on MMA Junkie Radio, Jon Jones' former adversary Daniel Cormier talked about how 'Bones' could not accept losing the top spot to Khabib.
Daniel Cormier: Jon Jones kind of lost his mind over Khabib
The former two-division champion was talking about how it was okay for big names in the sport to accept that the conversation will not always be about themselves. Sometimes, some other guys will rise the ranks to the top, and they have to accept that and move on.
In either case, everything a fighter accomplishes stays behind - it does not go away because someone else is successful.
"You don't go away. Your legacy always stays behind, and I think that the guys that you talk about we need to really sometimes take a step to the side and understand that it can be about the other guy for about one night. It doesn't have to be about him the whole time..."
While talking about it, DC pointed out that one of the best examples of such behavior in recent times was from Jon Jones. The MMA GOAT conversation stirred up once again when Khabib made it to 29-0 and retired undefeated from the sport.
Being the light heavyweight champion for nearly a decade with a record of 21-1 in UFC, Jon Jones held the top spot in pound-for-pound ranking for quite some time. Daniel Cormier highlighted how Jon Jones "lost his mind" over losing that spotlight from over him to Khabib.
"I think the biggest case of that recently was when Khabib was 'the man' and Jones just kind of lost his mind like it wasn't about him so he lost his mind. It's okay! This guy just had such a great performance under the circumstances, lost his father, now everybody's like this guy is the best. That's okay! For years people have been saying you're the best, right? It should not offend you to the point that you feel like you have to go on this tangent to answer every single tweet sent to him. I just think sometimes you got to let go the ego and realize that 'read the room, pick your time, and do those things in those moments that are necessary..."
In support of DC's comments on Jones, here are some of Jon Jones' tweets following Khabib's fight at UFC 254, after which 'The Eagle' requested UFC to make him the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, feeling he deserved that position.