Last Updated on March 6, 2026 by Pragjyoti Singh
If you followed the UFC during the height of the light heavyweight era, you know the Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones feud wasn’t just some manufactured drama to sell pay-per-views. While current feuds like Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev grab headlines, the animosity between DC and Jones was in a league of its own. It was real, it was ugly, and it was deeply personal.
Even now, years after they last stood across from each other in the octagon, that fire hasn’t fully gone out. Both legends have spent years taking shots at each other, never holding back, often expressing their genuine disdain. Recently, the rivalry flared up again when Cormier didn’t hold back, firing off a scathing accusation about the legitimacy of their past battles. While they’ve both moved on to different stages of their careers, Cormier behind the microphone and Jones still competing, the history between them remains a constant, unresolved point of friction.
Daniel Cormier claims Jon Jones won only one UFC fight against him
DC isn’t just venting; he’s looking at the history of the sport through a very specific lens. When you listen to him talk about his career, it’s clear he doesn’t view his losses to Jones the same way the official record books do. To him, those fights weren’t a test of pure skill, but a situation where the deck was stacked from the start.
His frustration stems from the fact that while he spent his entire professional life staying clean, he felt he was forced to fight someone who didn’t feel the need to abide by the same standards. It’s the kind of thing that eats at a competitor. Cormier has never been one to make excuses for his own performances, but he is adamant that the playing field was fundamentally broken. When he looks back at the timeline, his conclusion is blunt:
“Well, that’s the thing, is he won one. He cheated the first,the second time and then it didn’t win. So, yeah. Let’s remember that.”
For DC, this isn’t about holding a grudge; it’s about accountability. After Jones tested positive following their 2017 rematch, Cormier publicly voiced his frustration, telling reporters, “I just feel like it’s a disappointment.” For him, that moment shattered the legitimacy of the competition, as he felt the system failed to protect the fighters who played by the rules.
Daniel Cormier credits Jon Jones for pushing him
For as much heat as there was between them, Cormier has a surprisingly detached way of looking at the man who defined the biggest chapter of his career. He doesn’t shy away from admitting that the constant tension was actually fuel. “For as much as this guy just like doesn’t really vibe with me,” Cormier noted, “he always was a big part of why I was so successful because I was training to beat him in everything.”
That competitive obsession didn’t just disappear when they traded the cage for the coaching desk on the Russian reality show, ALF Reality. Stepping into the gym in Thailand, the two were forced into close quarters for weeks, a situation that many thought might finally bridge the gap between them. Instead, it seems the proximity only proved that some rivalries don’t have an expiration date. Despite earlier comments from Jones about wanting to “mend this jacked-up relationship,” the reality of filming together turned out to be anything but peaceful.
The experience seemed to leave both men as far apart as they were when they were fighting for world titles. After filming wrapped, the professional masks slipped quickly. Jones didn’t hold back, publicly blasting Cormier as an “a*shole” and a “d*ckhead,” claiming he tried to make peace only to be rebuffed at every turn. For Cormier, the experiment in Thailand was just more proof that the animosity wasn’t just a promotional gimmick for the fans—it was a genuine, deep-seated reality that defined how they viewed each other, even years after their last fight.
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