Daniel Cormier missed out on a massive payday because Jon Jones wasn’t interested. Or at least, that’s what Cormier says.
Cormier and Jones have one of the most heated rivalries in UFC history. Though Jones won both of their fights (the second was later overturned to a no-contest after Jones tested positive for a banned substance), the rivalry was one of the defining matchups of the UFC in the 2010s, so much so that even a decade later, both men are still cashing in on it.
Earlier this year, Cormier
and Jones coached opposite each other on the Russian MMA reality TV show ALF, once again igniting their rivalry, and leading Cormier to talk about a possible wrestling match against Jones in Real American Freestyle, the burgeoning wrestling promotion. RAF officials seem interested in booking something like that, but according to Cormier, they had discussions, and Jones wasn’t remotely interested.
“The thing with Jon Jones: it wouldn’t be RAF, because they can’t afford to pay it,” Cormier said in a Q&A session posted to his YouTube channel. “But there’s an organization that offered us both seven figures for a six-minute match. He will not do it. I’m telling you, he will not do it. I’m not lying. I went through the negotiations, and I said, ‘If he wrestles me, I’ll do it. But it’s going to be 10-0. I’m going to tech him.’ But unfortunately, he knows it’s going to be 10-0, so he won’t do it.”
Cormier added that when the wrestling match was shot down, he tried to pivot to a grappling match with Jones, but was again rebuffed.
“So then I said, ‘How about we do a grappling match?'” Cormier said. “He said no, only submissions. I said, ‘Why don’t we do points, right, where we win? I don’t want to be tied at the end.’ ‘No points, only submissions.’ So he won’t do it. He won’t compete with me in anything he thinks there’s a chance that he’d lose in. So, give up on the Jon Jones thing. He’s not going to do it.”
Jones past few years have been puzzling as, after defeating Stipe Miocic in their heavyweight title fight at UFC 309, “Bones” was supposed to unify his title with Tom Aspinall, but ultimately chose to retire instead. He then ended his retirement in the hopes of competing against Alex Pereira at UFC White House, but also revealed he has severe arthritis in his hips, which has hindered any possible comeback, while recently suggesting he still could be interested in a return.
