"He's just talking" - Daniel Cormier asks Jon Jones when he will fight instead of "judging" Francis Ngannou's UFC 270 performance
Daniel Cormier has challenged his former rival Jon Jones to put his money where his mouth is when it comes to fighting Francis Ngannou.
Cormier didn't appear to appreciate that Jones had been talking trash to Ngannou on social media in the aftermath of UFC 270. During an episode of the DC & RC MMA show, Cormier called out 'Bones' by saying:
"For me it's about, Jon Jones needs to fight. At some point, you got to fight. You got to fight. It's one thing to be the champion – defending, fighting. Even when him and I were going through our thing, he would get suspended, but he would go back and he would fight. Even when that meant fighting Ovince Saint Preux whenever I was hurt. But ultimately he was fighting. Right now he's just talking... When are you going to fight? Because for as bad as it was, Francis had a torn [MCL], Francis was hurt, he's had a bad training camp, all these things [and] Francis still fought."
Daniel Cormier weighs in on Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones:
Moments after the title unification main event at UFC 270, Jones hopped on social media to criticize Ngannou and Ciryl Gane. According to 'Bones,' he's more confident he'll beat both competitors after watching them fight each other.
If this is the Apex of heavyweight fighting, I’m excited about it. Got some more records to break
I love how everyone gets so impressed with the new guy lol
Lol Shit I may just enjoy retirement
However, Cormier added that Ngannou deserves credit for soldiering through a knee injury and fighting on despite his dispute with the UFC. 'DC' also reminded Jones that the fighter he saw on Saturday wasn't Ngannou's best version.
Dana White says he's "not confident" Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones will fight
Jon Jones has long been rumored to be next in line for a title shot against reigning heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou. However, UFC president Dana White has recently said he isn't confident that a Jones-Ngannou super fight will come to fruition. In a recent interview with ESPN, White said:
"I don’t feel confident saying that Jon Jones is next. Not because I think he’s unreliable, it’s because I honestly don’t know what Jon Jones wants to do next. I think Jon’s going to watch this fight, and he’ll decide. Maybe he doesn’t fight at heavyweight. Maybe he goes back and tries to regain the light heavyweight championship. I honestly don’t know the answer to that question."
Ngannou's status with the UFC is also still up in the air. 'The Predator' hinted that he's eyeing free-agency, but maintained that he's willing to stay with the company under the right circumstances.