Dolphins WR Tyreek Hills shows admiration for Jon Jones for his iconic win over Daniel Cormier - “Actually knows how to fight”
Jon Jones has found himself a fan in Tyreek Hill thanks to Daniel Cormier. The Miami Dolphins wide receiver said that he was always a fan of Jones, but has a newfound admiration for the fighter after Cormier gave his perspective.
In 2017, Jon Jones emerged victorious in his heavyweight title bout against Daniel Cormier. He later tested positive for banned substances and the title was removed, but the admiration was clear to see.
As Tyreek Hill said about the whole matchup:
"Jon Jones bro, when he fought DC bro like DC, gave me a different perspective. I already liked Jon Jones but DC gave me a different perspective bro. He was like Jon Jones is like, he's like a good fighter but he's like a smart and crafty fighter too though.
"Like he understands how to fight, like most people don't know how to fight but Jon Jones actually knows how to fight. Just run him boom... he was like Jon Jones next step was to kick him in his leg to get his like equilibrium off right. He was like bro who thinks of this… doing this trip like he was like seeing the whole world and Jon Jones just finished him.”
Did Jon Jones deserve Tyreek Hill's respect even without Daniel Cormier's intervention?
In the quotes, Tyreek Hill said he has always respected Jon Jones. And that respect is well deserved. Before defeating Daniel Cormier in 2017, he had defeated Ovince Saint Preux in 2016. In 2018, he defeated Alexander Gustafsson.
In 2023, after a gap of three years, he defeated Ciryl Gane. This was after he moved from the light heavyweight to the heavyweight cateogories. He has never been stopped or outscored in his career and his only loss was through a controversial disqualification.
However, his life off the ring has not been without controversies. He was involved in a felony hit-and-run case in 2015. It caused him to lose his UFC title and rankings. As previously mentioned, he also tested positive for banned substances after defeating Daniel Cormier, which reversed the result to no contest.
Jon Jones was also involved in a pay dispute with Dana White, which saw him vacate his titles. He only returned after three years off.
However it is spun, though, Jon Jones has proved his career as a champion. The latest recognition by Tyreek Hill through Daniel Cormier merely enhances a point that was well-known.