UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and challenger Daniel Cormier appeared on a series of television shows Monday to explain what happened.
I would like to give an apology to MGM Grand, all the fans who saw that; I am not proud of what happened, said Jones on ESPN, as transcribed by Dana Becker for FightLine. It is common in the UFC that two athletes get very close (during a face-off). It is a very intimate, very passionate moment for a lot of fighters.
I reacted in self-defense by beating up Daniel.
Cormier responded derisively.
I have never heard a fight get described as intimate and passionate, said Cormier. I have no idea what Jon Jones is talking about.
In my lifetime, I will never allow a man – Mike Tyson in his prime – no one will ever nudge me and not expect a reaction. I will teach my son to not allow anyone to bully them.
The pair then moved on to FOX Sports Live, apologized again briefly, and then resumed the verbal sparring. Jones made the case that the brawl was good for business.
“Dana texted me, Lorenzo Fertitta called me and asked me what happened,” said Jones as transcribed by David St. Martin for MMAFighting. “I basically told him the situation. I told him I’ve been in many staredowns, I’ve witnessed many staredowns. I did not expect to get hit in the throat. I told him, as a man, champion or not, that’s not going to stand. I can see it now. If I would have allowed him to hit me and not retaliated, there would have been a lot of people who respected me for walking away, but there would have been a lot of people who would have called me a coward or a wuss for allowing that to happen. Outside of what anyone else thinks, I couldn’t allow that to happen. I told Lorenzo Fertitta if anyone ever hits me then I’m going to do what I have to do to protect myself.
“For the most part, a lot of people are loving this. They’re eating it up. I’ve had Indianapolis Colts call me and all these football players call me. Just people from all over calling me. So excited, so much more anxious to see the fight. In a way, it was a good thing. In a very opposite way, it was a terrible thing for the UFC.”
Jones kicked the bickering by promising fans they would witness some “very malicious, violent things to happen the night of Sept. 27.”
Daniel Cormier: “I embrace that. Bring it to me. Meet me in the center of that Octagon and let’s fight.”
Jon Jones: “Daniel, you know that I am going to bring that to you. I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure you never forget the night you stepped in the Octagon with me.”
Daniel Cormier: “Your sad reality is that everything in your power will not be enough. Because I’m still going to beat you.”
“Jon and I can do stuff on Instagram. We can poke fun at each other on Twitter. We can build a fight. But at the end of the day, they’re going to lock the cage with him and I in it and we get to settle our differences. We’re not going to do it once. We’re going to do it twice because I’m going to beat him in September and then we’re going to fight again at the beginning of the year. Then he’ll realize he never wants to get locked in the cage with me again.”
Jon Jones: “I’ve fought many great wrestlers before. I think there’s a huge difference between a great wrestler who’s learned how to throw a few punches and kicks and a martial artist. I embody the spirit of a martial artist, the heart of a martial artist, what it truly means to be a martial artist. I’ll give up my arm. I’ll give up an eye. I’ll give up a toe. It doesn’t matter.
“There’s nothing you can do to stop me, Daniel Cormier. There’s absolutely nothing you can do. You said you could take me down 100 out of 100 times, right? That’s what you’re going to do, right? I challenge you to get me down five times in that five-round fight. You won’t be able to do that. Maybe you will get me down once. I believe in my whole heart that I’ll get you down, too. But the difference is, when I get you down, your face will open up. There is nothing you can do to stop me from coming at you round after round with the most malicious techniques I know. You will lose this fight, Daniel Cormier. I want you to believe it. Every ounce of training you put in leading up to this fight will be a waste of your life.”
Daniel Cormier: “This is what I want. I want a dog fight. If you can bring a dog fight to me, please do it. I live for this. Please do it. Nobody can test me in that way. It’s going to look easy and people are going to be scratching their heads.”
Jon Jones: “No one has tested you that way. You have not fought anything like me. You will see the difference between all these old, washed up fighters you’ve been beating. You have a sense of security beating Dan Henderson? A guy who’s almost 50 years old? Patrick Cummins, a guy who’s only 4-0? Josh Barnett at the end of his career? You have not tasted what I have to offer and you will see it. I cannot sit here and say you would dominate the competition that I have faced, the way I have faced them.”
