Daniel Cormier has two key rivals in his UFC career, but one clearly stands out,
Cormier's two biggest rivals are former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.When comparing the two, it is Miocic whom DC considers his biggest rival, not Jones.
“My greatest rival is Stipe Miocic: a fireman, a husband, and a guy that loves his family,” Cormier said on the DC & Helwani Show (via Jed Meshew of MMA Fighting). “Not Jon Jones, a guy that has done those things in his life and has been a real education in what not to do. I’d rather my rival be a guy that’s a firefighter and that protects the community and loves his family and does things the right way. That’s who I’m gonna give my energy to when people ask about my greatest rival.”
DC and Miocic met three times in the UFC, with Cormier winning at UFC 226, while Miocic won at UFC 241 and UFC 252.
Cormier may dislike Jones as a person, but DC does have respect for the skills that Jones brings to the Octagon and he sees Jones having success at heavyweight.
“All that I said before, those are personal things,” Cormier said. “When it comes to him professionally, if you have that skillset, the skillset that Jon Jones has, it doesn’t matter what weight class, he will be able to compete. That’s a fact. You can love him, you can hate him, but that’s a fact. He will compete against anybody. So for him to go to heavyweight, I don’t know if it’s as risky as people are trying to make it seem. He can fight those guys because I fought those guys. They’re big, they’re strong, they’re dangerous, but he can fight those guys.”
Jones and Cormier met twice in the UFC, with Jones winning at UFC 182, while the bout at UFC 214 was declared a no contest after Jones failed an in-competition drug test.
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