Then UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones beat Daniel Cormier via Unanimous Decision at UFC 182 on January 3, 2015. On April 28, Jones was stripped of his title for violating the UFC’s Athlete Code of Conduct policy. Jones had gotten in a car accident, hitting a pregnant woman and breaking her arm, before fleeing.
Jones returned from that suspension and beat Ovince Saint Preux via Unanimous Decision for the interim belt at UFC 197 on April 23, 2016. Jones was later stripped of the title and suspended after testing positive for clomiphene and letrozole. The source of the failed anti-doping test was determined to be a tainted, bootleg, erectile dysfunction pill.
Jones returned from that suspension and defeated Daniel Cormier via KO at UFC 214 on July 29, 2017, only to see the bout changed to a No Contest and the title stripped after he tested positive for turinabol. Over a year on, USADA has yet to issue a punishment, so Jones waits. In a recent interview with RT Sports, Jones expressed hope that he would return soon, and vowed to fight Cormier a third time, and a fourth.
As far as the whole steroid situation, I never did them, said Jones, as transcribed by Jed Meshew for MMA Fighting. I do believe it was found in my system, a very small amount, metabolite, but I never intentionally took any performance enhancers and I’ve been working my tail off for the last year to try and prove that. Right now we are still waiting for what they are going to do.
I’m hoping for a reduced sentence from four years but I don’t know what’s going to happen, so I’m just staying faithful and trying to do the right things and just focusing on the things I can control while waiting.
While Jones has been waiting, with an asterisk, Cormier has stayed clean, and entered the G.O.A.T. discussion with a win over then heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic at UFC 226 on July 7, 2018.
The night of that fight, I was confused, Jones explained. A part of me was upset at first. First, I was surprised. Then I became a little upset because Daniel Cormier was crowned the first heavyweight and light heavyweight champion and in my heart I know that Daniel Cormier is not the light heavyweight champion, so it bothered me at first.
The next day after a few hours of being awake I realized I cannot be a hater. Someone else’s success has nothing to do with me. What God has for Daniel Cormier is for Daniel Cormier and what he has for me is for me, and so I had to find a place in my heart to be happy for him. At the same time, I feel like when I come back into the game and get my light heavyweight championship back and become a heavyweight champion simultaneously, I feel like the fans will know that I’m truly the first heavyweight and light heavyweight champion. . .
My time will come again but I have just got to be happy for him and let him achieve his own personal level of greatness.
My vision is fighting him at light heavyweight first. I think that beating him a third time would really do something to his confidence. In his head, I feel like he thinks he can still beat me, especially because the fight was going fairly well until I knocked him out. I want to crush his confidence. . .
He said to me once, ‘Jon Jones, I’ll always be that kid in your bracket,’ meaning he will always be in the same tournament as me. I’m sure he regrets that because we always see who ends up in the first place position when we go up against each other, but I want to break his will. I want to break the idea of him thinking he can beat me. I believe doing that at light heavyweight would be the smartest thing to do, for a third time.
Leading into our fourth fight, a possible fourth fight for the heavyweight championship of the world, his confidence won’t be in the right spot. It won’t, and I think it will help me take that fourth victory over him and that heavyweight championship from him. I think I have his number.
No matter how hard he trains, I train a little bit harder. I’m a little bit younger, a bit longer, a little cuter.
Jones’ fantasy is unlikely. By that time it’s possible, whenever that is, Cormier will likely have ascended to the pantheon. Cormier plans one defense and 205 and one at heavyweight vs. Brock Lesnar early next year, and then retirement. In sum, he’s not impressed.
