Daniel Cormier criticizes Jon Jones for “losing his mind” amid Khabib GOAT talk

Daniel Cormier isn’t impressed by how Jon Jones comported himself after Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.

Heading into that card, Jones and Nurmagomedov had long stood out as the top two pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC, with Jones holding the No. 1 spot in the rankings and Nurmagomedov sitting at No. 2. After Nurmagomedov defeated Gaethje by submission in the UFC 254 main event, however, he was promoted to the No. 1 spot—and Jones was not happy about that.

“I’m talking to all you Khabib fans out there,” Jones wrote on Twitter after Nurmagomedov’s win. “Fifteen world titles to your guy’s four. And you guys really talking about who’s the best fighter ever? You guys are joking, right? Fifteen to four, are you guys kidding me?”

Speaking on MMA Junkie Radio recently, Cormier, a long-time training partner of Nurmagomedov and two-time Jones opponent, weighed in on this topic.

“I think sometimes we, as athletes, we all have egos,” Cormier began. “We all have massive egos. And active competitors don’t like the spotlight to stray too far away from them, and that’s why you get that sometimes.

“Give the guy his time,” Cormier continued. “Let the guys have their moment. We have been blessed with so many moments, moments that people are hoping to have just one. … We need to really sometimes take a step to the side and understand it can be about the other guy for one night. It doesn’t have to be about him the whole time, but give him his time, especially when they have performances like that.

“I think the biggest case of that recently was when Khabib was the man and then Jones just kind of lost his mind,” Cormier added. “It wasn’t about him, so he lost his mind. This guy just had a great performance under the circumstances – lost his father – now everybody is like, ‘This guy’s the best.’ OK, for years people have been saying (Jones) is the best. It should not offend (him) to the point that you feel like you have to go on this tangent and answer pretty much every single tweet.

“How do you answer every tweet sent to you when you have that many followers? I just think sometimes you gotta let go of your ego, read the room, pick your time, and do those things in those moments that are necessary.”

What do you think of these comments from Daniel Cormier? Was Jon Jones out of line after Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Justin Gaethje?