Daniel Cormier says Jon Jones doesn't deserve to be called MMA's GOAT

Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier's longstanding rivalry with Jon Jones is well known. And that simmering rivalry looks set to continue following Cormier's latest comments on his old rival during a UFC Q&A session in Australia.

Cormier is in Sydney as part of the UFC's broadcast team for UFC 312, and hosted a special fan Q&A session on stage, where he joined Australian MMA stars Jack Della Maddalena, Alexander Volkanovski and Tai Tuivasa, as well as Brazilian superstar Charles Oliveira, as they answered questions from the fans in the stands at Qudos Bank Arena.

One fan asked Cormier whether he thought Jones was the greatest of all-time, and "DC" gave his honest take.

"Honestly, you really can't deny his greatness, right?" Cormier began.

"Look at what he's done. The guy has now fought... He really has fought through three generations of fighter.

"He fought that early generation of Machida, and then went through my generation. And now he's fighting a whole another generation of guys. But, yeah, of course, he's one of the greatest fighters of all time.

"But, when you do dirty, you don't get to be called the greatest of all time."

Cormier and Jones shared the Octagon twice, with Jones winning on both occasions, though his second victory – via head-kick KO – was overturned to a no contest after Jones failed a drug test.

And Cormier referenced that knockout when answering another fan question, as the panel were asked to name the fighter who had hit them hardest in a fight during their respective careers.

"I've only been knocked out one time, so (it's) probably the guy that kicked me in the head," said Cormier.

"But honestly, the hardest puncher was probably Derrick Lewis or one of those heavyweights. Those guys were big. But, in terms of the kick, yeah, it was Jones."

Home/MMA