Daniel Cormier Shoots Down New York Fight with Jon Jones
Daniel Cormier fully expects to face Jon Jones when the latter fighter is reinstated by the UFC.
But when the two fight again, Cormier will be introduced as the champion when the two have their names announced by Bruce Buffer. And as champ, Cormier isn’t willing to allow Jones any type of home-field advantage by fighting in or around his home state of New York.
He’s not one to make it a cozy return for the former 205-pound king.
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“Why should I allow this guy to go and fight where he’s comfortable?” Cormier said at the UFC 192 post-fight press conference. “No, he needs to go somewhere where he has to look at people in the eyes and hear the anger that they had towards him for the actions that he did.”
As it was widely reported earlier this year, Jones was arrested for felony hit-and-run back in April and was subsequently stripped of the UFC’s light heavyweight title. Additionally, Jones was suspended from the organization.
In the week leading up to UFC 192, Jones pleaded guilty to the felony charge as part of a plea, avoiding jail time as a result.
With his legal troubles beginning to appear in his rearview mirror, Jones is likely to soon be reinstated by the UFC. All signs point to the 28-year-old fighting for the light heavyweight championship upon his return.
Cormier, however, said on Saturday that he refuses to allow any kind of hometown support for Jones, all but rejecting a fight at the UFC’s tentatively planned event in Madison Square Garden next April. MMA is currently banned in the New York, but the UFC will ask a federal judge to issue a preliminary injunction against the state that will allow the event to take place.
“I think that at the end of the day, when Jones gets reinstated, New York is probably the only place that he’ll be welcomed without venomous anger,” Cormier said. “This is where he’s from, so they will actually care for him. They will cheer him. Just as you take me to Lafayette, La., it doesn’t matter what I do – they will cheer me.”
With a fight the magnitude of Jones vs. Cormier, one would expect the location for the bout to be in Las Vegas. Most of the UFC’s largest drawing pay-per-views take place in that city.
Cormier added that he will welcome any challenger, be it fellow UFC 192 victor Ryan Bader or anyone else. Bader said at the same press conference that regardless of his win over former titleholder Rashad Evans on Saturday, a Jones return will surely push him back in terms of receiving a title shot.
One thing, though, is certain from Cormier’s perspective: a Jones fight will not happen in Mecca.
“Obviously, Jon Jones is Jon Jones. I think he’s the greatest of all time and when he gets cleared to fight then we’ll fight. But I’m not going to fight him in New York,” Cormier said.
