Daniel Cormier fires back at Jon Jones over UFC weigh-in show assumption
The latest chapter of the never-ending saga between Cormier in Jones stems from the UFC 318: Morning Weigh-in Show, where Cormier responded to the rapid-fire question: If you were to fight your enemy anywhere or a random place, where would it be?
"I kind of want the ability to kill him, so I'd like to do it at my house," Cormier said on the show.
Dan Hellie followed up by asking who Cormier would be fighting. Paul Felder quipped, "I think we know." Cormier laughed, and Hellie added, "Does it rhyme with Mon Mones?" The panel's laughter continued, and Cormier clarified by stating, "I don't dislike Jon Jones, I think he's fine."
Jones caught wind of the moment, and fired off a couple of messages on X (formerly Twitter) in reaction to the moment.
"DC said he wants to kill me at this house," Jones wrote. "I already buried him twice in the Octagon. Third time I'm bringing a shovel."
Jones continued in response to someone who attempted to clarify that Cormier did not state that directly.
"A blind man can see the mansion I own in Daniel's head," Jones wrote. "I just didn't realize how deep his hate still runs. Those ass whoopings must've left more than bruises, I feel like I'm the most painful thing that ever happened to that man's life. Emotional damage."
Cormier took time out to respond to Jones' messages in a video posted to his YouTube channel.
"I never once said Jon Jones was the person I was speaking about," Cormier said on his YouTube channel. "I never said it! Go back and watch the clip. I never once mentioned his name. ... Not true! I never said I wanted to kill him at my house."
Cormier acknowledges that his peers on the panel were referencing Jones and the laughter that came along with it, which may have really been the reason Jones was set off.
"Maybe Jon doesn't like people laughing when talking about him," Cormier said. "But a lot of the behaviors lately have a lot of people laughing about him and not with him."
As Cormier continued to defend his position as an analyst who is required to discuss the fight world, including talking about all things Jones, he explained that he probably wouldn't bring Jones' name up if it wasn't his job. The UFC Hall of Famer admits the losses to Jones "sucked," but he's moved on and made peace with the results.
"We can't fight, so why would I let you occupy space in my head?" Cormier said. "I'm doing great. My life is awesome. I do a job where I talk about the news. You have been the news. ... I never said him. People assume I was talking about Jon Jones, but what about maybe that I was talking about a guy that made my childhood ridiculous. Maybe it was someone else. Maybe it was somebody that I just don't like outside of fighting. You don't know. Only an insecure person would go immediately, 'He's talking about me.' No. Maybe I wasn't – but maybe I was. You don't know – but again, I didn't say a name on purpose."
Cormier also found it a step too far for Jones to state that he was the most painful thing that had happened in his life, as he has experienced significantly larger losses in his personal life.
"You can't say that you're the most painful thing that's happened in a person's life when they've lost a child," Cormier said. "That's the craziest thing in the world. You say I'm the most painful thing that's happened in a person's life, and they've lost a child – or their father got murdered – but again, he knows that. That's why you know you're dealing with a different type of human being."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
37 minutes ago
- Forbes
The Yankees Could Trade Spencer Jones, The Best Hitter In The Minors
PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - MARCH 24: Spencer Jones #78 of the New York Yankees rounds the bases after ... More hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning during the game between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets at Clover Park on Monday, March 24, 2025 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Lucas Casel/MLB Photos via Getty Images) Aaron Judge is a singularity. No one else in MLB can put up numbers comparable to the reigning American League MVP, but there's someone matching him stat-for-stat in his own organization. New York Yankees prospect Spencer Jones has a Judge-like batting line—and he could be on his way out the door. Jones began the year with the Double-A Somerset Patriots, where he hit .274/.389/.594 with 16 home runs in 49 games. That earned him a promotion to Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre, where he has taken his game to absurd levels, batting .400/.457/.950 with 13 homers in 19 games. Across the two highest levels of affiliated ball, he leads all qualified minor leaguers in home runs (29), slugging percentage (.706), and OPS (1.116). His overall batting line this season is .314/.411/.706, which is reminiscent of Judge's .342/.449/.711 slash line—the components of which all lead MLB. Jones has drawn comparisons to Judge since he was drafted by the Yankees out of Vanderbilt in 2022. Both are California natives who were selected in the first round out of college. They're both outfielders who stand 6-foot-7 with immense power and more speed than expected—Jones has 16 stolen bases this year and 96 in four minor-league seasons—even though Jones bats left-handed and Judge hits from the right side. With Judge on the injured list since July 25 with a bad elbow, it seems like Jones would be a perfect roster replacement since it doesn't appear he has anything left to prove in the minors. Unfortunately, the two have something else in common—Jones hasn't played since his three-homer game on July 24 due to back spasms. A 24-year-old slugging center fielder in Triple-A seems like the kind of prospect the Yankees should make untradeable, but USA Today's Bob Nightengale reports that they could move him before this week's trade deadline. The team needs reinforcements, particularly for their pitching staff. Despite his Judge-like numbers, Jones is one of the most polarizing prospects in baseball. Many evaluators believe he'll never make enough contact to stick in the big leagues. In 2024, he set a Yankees organizational record with 200 strikeouts in 124 games and 544 plate appearances while playing in Double-A, which is an astounding 36.8% strikeout rate. To put that in context, only three qualified major leaguers have a strikeout rate higher than 30% this season, and none above Riley Greene's 32.7%. Again, that was in Double-A, and the pitching only gets tougher to hit at higher levels. He has made slight improvements this season, but perhaps not enough. He has 94 strikeouts in 302 plate appearances across Double-A and Triple-A, which is a 31.1% strikeout rate. Very few players fan that much in the minors and have success in MLB, as explained by J.J. Cooper of Baseball America. Another important statistic that portends a player's success is zone-contact rate, or how often the player makes contact when swinging at pitches in the strike zone. Most hitters have to reach a threshold of around 80% zone-contact in MLB to succeed, with a few rare exceptions. Jones' zone-contact rate in Triple-A is only 69.4%. He's obliterating the ball when he connects, but he's not putting bat to ball nearly often enough, and most players have even more difficulty making contact when they jump from Triple-A to MLB. Some analysts think Spencer Jones can overcome his contact woes while others believe they will doom him. With his exceptional numbers in the minors, his trade value has never been higher. We'll see how much the Yankees believe in him based on whether or not he's still with the organization in a few days.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
On when Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen almost became a Boston Celtic
Fans of the Boston Celtics might be surprised to know that Chicago Bulls Hall of Fame Scottie Pippen nearly became a member of their favorite ball club. Back in the era when the Celtics were stuck in the proverbial treadmill of mediocrity in the post- Larry Bird era as the Bulls' star was starting to wane as well as their Michael Jordan era drew to a close, Pippen was being shopped by the team's front office as a potential trade chip. Boston had just signed the hottest college coach in the country, Rick Pitino (we know, we know), and things looked like they might be about to turn around for the Celtics with such a move. The deal, of course, did not end up working out, with Pippen moved elsewhere and Boston entering its wilderness era. But the folks behind the "NBC Sports Boston" YouTube channel put together a clip looking back at what might have been in a recent clip. Check it out below to hear the details for yourself.
Indianapolis Star
2 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
With a new defensive staff and a history of injuries it's a make-or-break season for JuJu Brents
WESTFIELD -- Colts cornerback JuJu Brents lined up in press coverage across from Anthony Gould in a red-zone drill in a matchup of size versus speed. Gould cut inside on a slant, hoping to use the green space and inside leverage as safe harbor from this 6-foot-3 cornerback. But Brents was ready for this twist, and he blanketed the 5-foot-8 receiver until the pass arrived. Then he stretched his gangly arms around Gould's compact frame in order to tip the ball up in the air and into the arms of safety Rodney Thomas II. Four practices in, Brents is healthy, for now. He's back from the meniscus tear that derailed his second season, back from the numerous surgeries that have combined to limit him to just 11 games played in two seasons. He's back in the northern suburbs of his hometown, in a literal shadow of the building where he received the call from the Colts in the second round back in 2023. That's when the dreams launched of running out of the Lucas Oil Stadium tunnel with an Indianapolis jersey on and starring at a premium position for the hometown team, only for a knee and a quad and a nose and an ankle and a wrist to turn the dream into a cruel joke at times. Heading into a make-or-break third season, those scars turned into jet fuel this offseason. "I was just working my (expletive) off," Brents said. If he needed any more fuel for the fire he's stoked through those 23 missed games, he's getting it on the field. The Colts have thrust him into a three-man battle for the starting outside cornerback spot opposite newly signed All-Pro Charvarius Ward, along with third-round Minnesota rookie Justin Walley and two-year starter Jaylon Jones. "I think if you're a competitor, you love this type of competition," Brents said. "For me, it's just a challenge every single day. But it makes us all better." INSIDER: 10 thoughts on Anthony Richardson vs. Daniel Jones and the first week of Colts camp Thanks to Ward, and with Moore in the slot, it's one spot up for grabs among three hungry men. One is a seventh-round pick in Jones, another is a rookie with a name to carve out in Walley and the third is a hometown kid with perhaps one last runway at a local dream in Brents. "It's just an aggressive mentality: he comes downhill and brings some crafty plays with it. He'll hit someone in the flat," Jones said of Brents. "... We always be joking with him about being the 'neighborhood hero' and 'the prince of Indy.'" Walley's edge is that he was drafted by the current coaching staff, with a skill set directly built for the scheme. By hiring defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and assistant defensive backs coaches Jerome Henderson and Chris Hewitt, the Colts are embracing more of a sticky man-coverage approach, which fits the 5-10 Walley more than it does the 6-3 Brents or 6-2 Jones, who were drafted for Gus Bradley's Seattle-style approach with hulking outside cornerbacks who lived more in short-area zones. Jones has the experience edge over the two with 27 starts in 34 games. He also allowed just one touchdown pass last season, though he did give up 8.1 yards per attempt. Brents' edge is still on upside and skill set. He was the highest drafted of the three as a second-rounder, and though he has hulking length at 6-3, he also has the light frame and foot speed to move smoothly within it, like he did in blanketing Gould on the slant route. "I can't wait to see the ceiling that he reaches in the league," Moore said. "I can't wait to see the ceiling he reaches being an Indianapolis Colt." That light frame has led to a rash of injuries he could never believe could be real. But for the first time as a pro, he's coming off an offseason with no surgeries and no lingering injuries. His time is now. And for as long as it lasts, he's coming for it all.
