Despite Jon Jones’ bitter rivalry with Daniel Cormier, ‘Bones’ is not ignorant of ‘DC’s’ championship-level talent.
Cormier, 37, picked up the vacant light heavyweight title when he submitted Anthony Johnson at UFC 187 and will rematch the knockout artist on Dec. 10.
It will be Cormier’s second title defense and Jones, the current interim title holder, believes his American Kickboxing Academy rival will beat Rumble again due to being a more well-rounded fighter.
If I had to bet I would go with DC, his overall game is more complete https://t.co/PhyhxkzK5c
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) October 28, 2016
Jones beat Cormier via unanimous decision last year but is currently suspended by the United States Anti-Doping Agency after testing positive for clomiphene and letrozole. The JacksonWink fighter was scheduled to rematch Cormier at UFC 200 but was swiftly removed from the card after the release of his out-of-competition drug test results.
It’s expected that Jones will clear his name at an upcoming hearing with USADA after his attorney, Howard Jacobs, claims the results stem from the use of a tainted supplement.
When Jones does return to the Octagon, the Rochester-born fighter would prefer to face Johnson.
I would much rather fight Rumble for the title. That way I could clear the division and get my belt back at once https://t.co/aZJKjuUsP7
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) October 26, 2016
Jones hasn’t lost a fight since 2009 when he was disqualified for using illegal elbows against Matt Hamill, and has gone on to cement himself as arguably the greatest light heavyweight of all time.
The controversial star will be keeping a close eye on UFC 206, which features Cormier vs. Johnson in the main event. The pay-per-view takes place on Dec. 10 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
