Jon Jones wasn’t happy that he was being recorded while telling a fan at a recent Dirty Boxing event that he’s dealing with severe arthritis, and he’s already a candidate for hip replacement surgery, but
longtime rival Daniel Cormier isn’t buying it.
After the video surfaced showing Jones revealing the extent of the injuries plaguing his body after a long career competing in the UFC, he complained and called the person who posted that clip an “assh*le” but confirmed those are the issues he’s dealing with right now. Jones added that the UFC is also aware but that wouldn’t necessarily stop him from competing again under the right circumstances.
But Cormier can’t believe that Jones had no idea he was being recorded much less that the footage got released afterwards.
“The Meta glasses is a big thing right now,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “Rosindo Sanchez, one of my coaches, he wears Meta glasses. First off, wearing the Meta glasses, they aren’t unrecognizable. They don’t look like the general shades like glasses, you can tell something there is a little different. Jon said the kid filmed him without his knowledge. Here’s where I have a little bit of an issue with this statement. While I believe his intention may have been for him not to be recording him, it’s very easy to tell if you’re being recorded with the Meta glasses. It’s hard to hide that you’re being recorded with Meta glasses if you’re in close proximity with the person that is using the glasses.
“When you’ve been in the public eye, you build this almost sixth sense as to when people are recording you.”
Add to that, Cormier can’t believe that Jones would just disclose that information to a random fan asking him about a potential wrestling match between them in RAF. That’s the question that led to Jones revealing he was dealing with severe arthritis in one of his hips, which would prevent him from getting on the wrestling mats with the two-time Olympian.
“I believe information like that, if it’s that close to the vest, you don’t share it with some random [person] either,” Cormier said. “I don’t know that anything he does isn’t intended to be taken in the way that it’s taken. It feels like everything he does has a purpose. I don’t believe him, and I don’t think you should. Because I don’t think he was unaware of the video.
“I think Jon Jones knew what he was doing. I think he wanted people to know that he’s injured, and I think that’s exactly the way that he wanted it to happen by giving it to an influencer. That influencer then put it on the internet and then you can feign ignorance and go ‘oh my god, I got caught.’ Not true.”
As far as the actual injuries, Cormier doesn’t think that Jones is lying about that but rather he’s just finally putting the information out there to let the entire world know that his fighting days might already be behind him.
Jones has recently been pushing hard for a spot on the UFC White House card in June, but Dana White has repeatedly denied that request. Perhaps the revelation about these injuries could serve as the door closing on Jones ever competing again.
“I believe Jon Jones is hurt,” Cormier said. “I believe Jon Jones really is dealing with injuries from a long, sustained career in combat sports. Where knees and elbows and kicks were such a massive part of his game, the wrestling, sports from a young age takes a toll on the body to anyone. That was the video that made me believe that Jon Jones doesn’t have anything left in that regard.
“There will be no wrestling match between he and I. Because if that’s him in athletics, it would be too hard for him to compete in a wrestling match. His body will not hold up in the training to prepare for a wrestling match. So I think people should now start to get ready for a day when they don’t have Jones in fighting. I don’t think you’re going to have him much longer in this sport. Because I don’t think the guy’s body is going to hold up.”
Jones technically already retired after passing on a heavyweight title fight against Tom Aspinall but then promptly reversed course when the UFC White House card was announced.
If he doesn’t end up competing at that event, there’s a good chance that Jones has already engaged in his final UFC fight.
Watching Jones talk about his injuries was enough to convince Cormier that his former opponent is just coming to terms with the reality that his career might be done.
“It’s a sad thing because in real time you could see him come to accept that all those days are over,” Cormier said. “I fought that dude at 36 and 38 years old and I felt great physically and mentally going into both. But if I had to fight him at 38, 39 or 40 years old, I don’t know if I would have felt the way I did.
“In real time, we’re watching him come to the acceptance that it’s over. You can see it. You can see him accepting ‘I might be done.’”
