Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones once had one of the most explosive rivalries in MMA going. Back in January of 2015, the fighters met for the first time inside the fabled Octagon for the main attraction of UFC 182 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, the first event on that year’s UFC schedule. At stake: The UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
Chapter one of the story was written with Jon Jones besting Daniel Cormier by a 49-46 unanimous decision on the scorecards after the five rounds of action were complete. A rematch was then booked for the summer of 2017 inside Honda Center in Anaheim.
It was in this rematch that controversy would ensue. Originally, Jon Jones took the second fight between himself and Daniel Cormier by way of third-round knockout (ground and pound) to win the title.
This decision wound up being reversed to a no-contest upon the discovery that “Bones” failed a drug test. As such, “DC” would see the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship returned to him.
Daniel Cormier, Jon Jones Serving as Coaches on Russian Reality TV Show
Recently, it was announced that both Cormier and Jones would meet up again, more than eight years removed from their last head-to-head meeting in the Octagon. This time, however, the meeting will be on much less hostile terms.
Russian promotion ALF Global revealed that the two would be coaches on the new season of Alf Reality, a competition series in a similar vein to The Ultimate Fighter television show. Daniel Cormier spoke with Red Corner MMA from Thailand, where Alf Reality is being filmed, on the move to have himself and his former rival as coaches on the same show.
“Being around Jon Jones is, it’s different, because we had such a bad history,” Daniel Cormier began. “The reality is I’m done fighting now. That part of it is gone, so it’s not nearly as nasty. I think that we’ve done a good job of being professional, as much as we can.”
Still a Few Sparks Remain Between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones
While the rivalry between the two competitors has cooled off, it isn’t all hugs and hand-pounds for Cormier and Jones. There’s still some minor friction between them, as Daniel Cormier pointed out during the interview in Thailand.
“Obviously, we argue a lot,” he said. “That’s just the status of our relationship, but I think [that] we’ve gotten to a point in our lives where we can be in the same area without trying to fight each other.”
Daniel Cormier Waxes Nostalgic About the Past and Friendships
During the same interview, Daniel Cormier discussed the one aspect of his career as a fighter that he misses the most.
“Recently, I spoke about the time, right? Like missing the time with Khabib [Nurmagomedov] and Cain [Velasquez] and Luke [Rockhold]”, he said. “We had a great group of guys in the gym. People always ask me ‘Do you miss fighting?’ I don’t miss fighting, I miss the time spent with my brothers. The other day, I’m in Thailand and I go into a restaurant and I run into Zubaira Tukhugov. Just randomly run into Zuba.”
“Him and I started talking,” Daniel Cormier continued. “We’re both gray now a little bit, we’re older, both coaching teams. He had the same thought. He goes, ‘It’s just the time.’ I love those guys so much and we all are so close, it feels like we’ve known each other forever, but I’ve only known Cain Velasquez now 13 years, 14 years. I knew Khabib for seven, and I only trained with Zuba for five. We were consistently in each other’s lives for only like five to seven years, but it feels like I’ve known those guys my whole life.”
Final Thoughts
When Alf Reality does air its new season with Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones as coaches, it’ll no doubt be interesting to see just what the cameras have captured and what the editors choose to keep in the final cuts of the episodes as it pertains to how the two are portrayed on the show. Will an argument involving Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones appear in an episode?
If so, will the staff edit footage of the two arguing to give a minor disagreement the appearance of a major dust-up? Which coach’s team will have the better fighters as the episodes and season progress?
Only time will tell as to how these questions get answered. Get your popcorn ready.
