Daniel Cormier shares honest feelings about arch-rival Jon Jones after UFC 309: "I do respect him tremendously"
Daniel Cormier recently spoke candidly about his equation with longtime rival Jon Jones following the latter's impressive win at UFC 309. Despite their personal differences, Cormier asserted that he has always admired the reigning heavyweight champion as a fighter.
Jones made his highly anticipated heavyweight title defense against Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 309, which took place this past Saturday at Madison Square Garden. In the third round, Jones was able to cement the victory with ground-and-pound shots after sending Miocic down with a spinning back kick, showcasing his striking prowess.
Cormier, who was in the commentary team alongside Joe Rogan and Jon Anik, recently uploaded a video on his YouTube channel, discussing the aftermath of UFC 309. The UFC Hall of Famer applauded Jones' gameplan and the weapons he possesses in his arsenal, saying:
''This dude [Jones] prove time and time again, man, how good he is and I truly believe a lot of it is due to the hard work, the fight IQ, and the toughness, the durability that he possesses inside the octagon. It does not matter what I feel about Jon Jones in life, I do respect him tremendously, immensely as a fighter. He does a lot of the right things when he's inside that octagon and that has led to him having more success than anyone has had.''
Cormier continued his admiration for Jones, saying:
''This guy has defended titles and over the course of three generations of fighters. That was it for that generation. Stipe was it for that generation... he has defended this belt over three generations so no matter what you feel about him, it's very apparent that you have to respect him and the skills that he possesses in the octagon.''
Check out Daniel Cormier's comments below (4:38):
Jon Jones wants to be fairly compensated for the Tom Aspinall fight
Before his title fight with Stipe Miocic, Jon Jones hinted at either retirement or a superfight with Alex Pereira. Nonetheless, a lot of people demanded Jones face interim champion Tom Aspinall for the heavyweight title unification bout.
Following his win over Miocic at UFC 309, Jones expressed his intention to negotiate with UFC executives about a potential Aspinall fight. During the post-fight press conference, 'Bones' stated that he would require a sufficient sum of money to face the Brit.
''I just don’t like him [Aspinall] and at the end of the day, if I give him the opportunity to fight me, I want to be so compensated - I want to say it, I want that ‘f*ck you’ money, honestly. That’s just what it is.''
Check out Jon Jones' comments below (16:35):