There may be a gazillion fans who would love to see Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier battle for the third time. But, the latter’s friend and teammate, Deron Winn, doesn’t believe Jones deserves to fight “DC” once again.
Since Jones returned to the UFC last year, there’s been plenty of talk about the possibility of him facing his rival one more time. Although Jones has defeated Cormier twice, one of those defeats was overturned to a no-contest, as a result of “Bones”’ well documented USADA flag.
Well, fast forward to today, and it doesn’t look like Cormier – Jones III will materialize, unless the latter’s willing to move up to heavyweight. But, during a recent interview on “The MMA Hour”, the UFC newcomer and AKA fighter Winn, had this to say about the matter (quotes via MMA Fighting):
“I don’t think he should ever worry about a guy like Jon Jones ever again,” Winn said of Cormier. “And as much as people want to act like [Jones is] the greatest — he’s a cheat. He’s a coward, he’s a cheat, he’s never been legal. Even these past couple of fights, he keeps failing drug tests, so he’s a cheat and his legacy will always be tarnished.
“DC has passed something crazy like 60 USADA tests from when he was wrestling in the Olympics. He’s a clean, fair, hardworking guy, and I want him to get one more big paycheck and get out. He doesn’t need anymore, he’s submitted his legacy, he’s done things that only a couple of people have ever done. His only loss is to the biggest fraud in MMA.”
Winn’s certainly not the only person who’s argued that Jones’ legacy has been tanked, due to his USADA issues. Even if Jones has repeatedly denied ever knowingly taking any type of PED, and some observers have claimed there’s evidence to support that.
But, as it stands right now, it doesn’t really seem like Cormier – Jones III is in the cards. Jones has distanced himself from fighting Cormier at heavyweight, and it’s kind of hard to imagine “DC” making the cut to 205 again.
That said, you never know. If Jones takes out Thiago Santos in July, and if Cormier defends the heavyweight title again (whether that’s against Stipe Miocic or Brock Lesnar), the UFC might table enough money to make it happen. It wasn’t that long ago when Cormier was talking about facing his rival again, before the decorated wrestler hangs up the gloves.
Winn, meanwhile, is set to face Markus Perez at UFC Greenville on June 22nd.