Daniel Cormier hits back at ‘Magician in Manipulation’ Jon Jones after recent dismissal of his UFC accolades

UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier has responded to UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones’s apparent dismissal of his light heavyweight title reign.

Jones earned the then-vacant UFC heavyweight title by defeating Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 last year. He was then booked to face Stipe Miocic at UFC 295, before withdrawing due to injury.

Jones’ short-notice withdrawal resulted in the UFC booking an interim title fight between Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich. Aspinall knocked out Pavlovich in the first round to become the interim heavyweight titleholder.

Since Aspinall’s win, many have clamored for a clash between Jones and Aspinall. But, Jones has remained adamant about facing Miocic next, while Aspinall is expected to defend the interim belt in the meantime.

When discussing the confusing UFC heavyweight title picture, Jones took a shot at Cormier’s light heavyweight title reign during his previous suspensions for wrongdoings outside of the cage.

Check out Jones’s veiled jab at Cormier below.

UFC is a brilliant company, did what they had to do to save the event. But I do agree with you, it definitely confused a bunch of UK fans, got them entitled thinking their boy really is the champion. It reminds me of when DC was the “champion” during my absence. https://t.co/UXbx7LMboG

— BONY (@JonnyBones) May 9, 2024

“UFC is a brilliant company, did what they had to do to save the event,” Jones tweeted. “But I do agree with you, it definitely confused a bunch of UK fans, got them entitled thinking their boy really is the champion. It reminds me of when [Daniel Cormier] was the “champion” during my absence.”

Cormier won the then-vacant UFC light heavyweight title by defeating Anthony Johnson at UFC 187. Jones vacated the title after a hit-and-run accident involving a pregnant woman in New Mexico.

Daniel Cormier responds to Jon Jones downplaying LHW title reign

In a recent upload to his YouTube channel, Cormier addressed Jones’s tweet.

“That’s not a real indication of what was going on,” Cormier said of Jones. “Look guys, Jon is out due to injury, so Tom Aspinall is now the champion, I get that. But that’s not what was going on when he and I were fighting. He misrepresented what the situation was. Tom Aspinall isn’t the champion because of his absence, so much, he’s the champion because he was available. Won the belt when Jon got hurt…he beat me, so maybe I wouldn’t have been the champ? But he disqualified himself. It’s two different situations, because right now, he injured himself. With me, he got caught doing things he’s not supposed to, and getting taken out of the competition…

“It’s not the same, although it may seem the same,” Cormier continued. “He was incapable of competing when I was the champion. He wasn’t allowed to compete, not due to injury, due to illegal substances found in his body, that’s just the truth…that’s my response. Jones, it wasn’t the same thing, bud. So no matter how quickly you are, and the magician you are at manipulating and saying this and the other, that’s not the case. It was different, you couldn’t compete whenever I was fighting. You couldn’t, you couldn’t make that decision to go and fight. I was the champion, for a really long time actually, which is kind of crazy.”

Cormier successfully defended the light heavyweight title against Alexander Gustafsson and Johnson during Jones’ two-year absence. Jones returned to the throne when he defeated Cormier in their rematch at UFC 214, which was later overturned after Jones tested positive for turinabol.

Jones is expected to return later this year against Miocic. Despite a loss in his last fight at UFC 260, Miocic has the opportunity to become a three-time UFC heavyweight champion.

The bad blood between Jones and Cormier has died down in recent years, but tensions remain between the two sides. It seems that the two all-time greats will never fully see eye-to-eye.