MMA fighters Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones have seemingly always had their share of disputes between one another. Whether it was inside the octagon or outside of it, the two rivals were typically at odds with each other, however, the recently retired Cormier claims to have moved past his feud with Jones, and now looks to speak to him on a “human-to-human” level.
This is all because last month, Jones was arrested in Las Vegas on Domestic Violence charges, after police were notified by Caesars Palace security that a woman had experienced a physical encounter with Jones. According to ESPN, the woman told police that Jones did not physically hit her, but grabbed the back of her head and hair in preventing her from leaving the hotel room that the two were in. However, officers on-scene also observed other facial markings and bruises on the woman, along with traces of blood on the bed and on her clothing. When interviewed by the police, Jones denied ever touching or harming the woman.
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The incident has impacted the UFC community, as Jones was barred from his longtime gym indefinitely following his arrest, and Daniel Cormier took to his personal YouTube channel to not only address the serious allegations but also directed words of optimism towards his former rival, in hopes of helping him get his life back together.
Transcribed via Bloody Elbow, Cormier said on his YouTube:
“The scariest part about this is in these moments when people who have issues start to lose the closest allies, they could go one of two ways: One way, they could go to the top and get their shit together. Or, they can actually just plummet. So I think it’s gonna be very important for the people that are closest to Jones to really try to help him decide and figure how he’s gonna go forward. Because this is that slippery slope.”
Cormier continued, “It’s time for wholesale changes. Because now, you’re looking at Winkeljohn’s gone, Jackson’s gone, Malki Kawa’s gone, Abraham Kawa’s gone. All of his greatest allies are starting to fall off, one by one.
“So when you’re left alone, how do you answer? And you start to hear the voices chirping. All the doubt, the questions as to how you ended up there, how do you deal with that?”
“For people that have issues, they don’t normally deal with that very well. So this is a big moment for Jon Jones…You can have all the talent in the world, and we know that Jones does. But if you can’t get those ducks in a row, none of that even matters.”
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Known for disliking Jones for years, Cormier now speaks towards him with a level of compassion that shows he’s moved on from their clashing, competitive history. Highlighting that this is an important point in Jones’ life, and that it’s not the time to beat up on the former UFC light heavyweight champion.
“But when a man’s down, you don’t kick him,” Cormier added. “You wait until he’s back on his feet… Right now, he’s the furthest thing from his feet. This is a bad place for Jon Jones, especially as the allies start to drop off.
“We’ll never be friends. But human to human, you gotta get your shit right. And show some remorse. Before you hit that send button on these tweets, you’ve got to think about what you’re saying because it seems as though you tell yourself so many lies that you start to believe them.”
Last year, Jones vacated his UFC light heavyweight championship title he’d held for years, and if he’s indeed able to get back on track, he’d be expected to compete for the UFC heavyweight title, next year.
Check out Cormier’s entire response, below: