Daniel Cormier says Jon Jones is not afraid of Francis Ngannou

Former UFC champion Daniel Cormier came to the defense of longtime rival Jon Jones, saying he is not scared of fighting Francis Ngannou.

Ngannou knocked out Cormier’s other rival Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 260 this past weekend to capture the UFC heavyweight title. Following the fight, UFC president Dana White suggested that Jones should move down to 185lbs and that he’s scared of fighting Ngannou. Ever since then, Jones has taken to social media to vent his frustrations with the UFC and with White following his comments. Jones has gone on to say that he hopes that the UFC just releases him so that he can move on with his fighting career.

For White to suggest Jones is scared of fighting Ngannou, or of anyone in the UFC for that matter, was a very strange comment considering White himself was the one who encouraged Jones to move up to heavyweight and he was the one who said he would get a title shot. However, for whatever reason White has thrown Jones under the bus since then. If you ask Cormier, White’s comments are all about contract negotiations between them.

Speaking on the “DC and Helwani” podcast, Cormier came to the defense of Jones. Even though the two are longtime bitter rivals who do not like each other, Cormier doesn’t think that Jones is scared of fighting Ngannou, and believes it’s all about the money involved.

DC: Jon Jones, for everything that's between us, is not afraid of Francis Ngannou.#DCandHelwani

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) March 29, 2021

DC: Jon Jones, for everything that’s between us, is not afraid of Francis Ngannou. #DCandHelwani

DC: High level negotiations is what's going on right now.

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) March 29, 2021

DC: High-level negotiations is what’s going on right now.

It remains to be seen if cooler heads can prevail and if the UFC and Jones can come to an agreement about the Ngannou fight. While money might be the issue, Jones is not scared.

Do you agree with Daniel Cormier that Jon Jones isn’t scared of fighting Francis Ngannou?