Daniel Cormier want to clarify your conversation with Jon Jones from the documentary “Fight Inc: Inside the UFC”.
A clip from the documentary appeared showing Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) talking to the UFC broadcast team ahead of his return fight against Ciryl Gane on UFC 285 in January 2023.
Jones specifically asked about Cormier and the two had a brief, awkward conversation where they remained cordial. The camera then panned to Cormier, who gave the middle finger. But Cormier says the gesture wasn’t directed at Jones, even though the editing made it seem like it was.
“I asked him about the fight, specifically how he would approach Ciryl Gane and everything,” Cormier in his Youtube channel. “Then the UFC approached me and I left them out. Guys, I wasn’t annoying Jones. Then everyone made a joke in the room, so I gave them the middle finger. It was clever because it makes it look a certain way.”
Cormier explains his hesitation to get involved with Jones at first, even though he knew it would be inevitable with him being called up for major pay-per-view events.
“With Jon Jones and I, for a long time, I wouldn’t call his fights,” Cormier said. “I would just tell my producers and people, ‘I don’t want to do this,’ because my emotions were so strong towards him, that I didn’t necessarily want to call Jon Jones’ fights. Especially when I was still competing.
“I’m not actively competing anymore, so I said to myself, let’s do this because these are going to be some of the biggest fights in the UFC. I need to be there to first try to do my job and, second, leave this whole chapter behind and show that I can be a professional and give my best in his fights.
Jones submitted Gane to claim the vacant heavyweight title. The expectation is that he will make his first title defense against Stipe Miocic, possibly in November, at UFC 309, in New York.
