Jon Jones has reclaimed his spot on the Pound for Pound UFC rankings as the new heavyweight champion of the world.
In a recent UFC event, Jones took on Ciryl Gane, the number one contender for the heavyweight belt, and won by submitting Gane with a guillotine.
However, Jones’ old rival and UFC Hall of famer, Daniel Cormier, criticized Jones’ past PED use.
According to him, this makes Jon Jones undeserving of the title of the greatest of all time. Cormier made these comments on his show, DC & RC and sparked a war of words between the two old rivals.
“This always puts me in a tough position, because I will always say guys that have bad things attached to their name should not be held on high.”
“ I think when you have those things, it’s hard to call you the greatest of all time. And I know Anderson (Silva) and all those guys, but I think (Jones) is in the conversation, because he’s become a heavyweight champion, and now he’s won belts in two weight classes.”
Jones has 11 title defenses and an undefeated record. He hit back at Cormier’s comments on Twitter, slamming him for his performance as a commentator. Jones pointed out that Cormier was unable to identify the guillotine that Jones used to defeat Gane. He also said that Cormier looked “salty” in the commentary booth.
Jones vs. Cormier rivalry was one of the biggest in the UFC’s history. The two were at the peak of their careers, and their rivalry created a buzz in the MMA community. Jones defeated Cormier twice, with one win overturned to a no contest after Jones failed a USADA test.
While Daniel Cormier may disagree, Jones’ achievements speak for themselves. But Jones will never be able to escape the controversies his behavior outside of the cage caused in addition to the series of failed USADA tests.