NEW YORK – [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] would love to put his rivalry with [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] in the past for good.
Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) beat Cormier twice in title fights in what was one of the most heated rivalries in UFC history. However, Jones’ knockout win in their rematch at UFC 214 was overturned to a no contest after he tested positive for a turinabol metabolite.
Since then, UFC heavyweight champion Jones has tried to approach Cormier in a friendly manner every time they’ve crossed paths, but Cormier recently revealed that he wasn’t warm to it. Jones wants to see that change.
“Yeah, I’d love to bury that hatchet with DC,” Jones said during Thursday’s UFC 309 press conference. “You know, literally every time I see him, I try to give him a smile, I try to give him a handshake and I don’t think – I just recently found out he doesn’t like that very much.
“So, I think I’ll just give him a little friendly wave from a distance from now on. That’s all over for me a long time ago. I’m sure there’s a lot of guys, a lot of former opponents, that really don’t like me and that’s just part of doing what I do.”
Cormier will be on the commentary call for Jones’ return to the octagon. Jones defends his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 309 (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Hulu/FX, ESPN+) main event at Madison Square Garden in New York.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.