Former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier doesn't buy the belief that Jon Jones is afraid of new UFC heavyweight king Francis Ngannou.
The current UFC commentator and former Jones rival spoke with ESPN's Ariel Helwani on their show DC & Helwani on Monday and defended his nemesis against the notion he has any fear of fighting Ngannou after he knocked out Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 in the second-round of their rematch to become the new UFC heavyweight champ. Jones and Cormier shared the Octagon twice during the latter's time as an active fighter at UFC 182 in January 2015 and UFC 214 in July 2017 with Jones winning both contests.
“Jon Jones, for everything that is between us, is not afraid of Francis Ngannou,” Cormier said (h/t ESPN MMA). “This is absurd that people think that...Jon Jones is one of the most talented guys that I've ever seen inside the Octagon and if you have to find someone that can piece together a way to solve that puzzle, it's Jon Jones."
Cormier also discussed in a media session ahead of UFC 260 this past weekend the topic of fighters being oversensitive towards things said about them, mainly from the media but also believes it goes further than just fighters and is more of a common trend amongst all professional athletes. He also believes fighters should be more grateful for the coverage they receive, rather than focusing solely on the things they don't like being said about them.
“Fighters are sensitive,” he said (h/t MMAJunkie). “Like, very sensitive, but it’s not just fighters. When Stephen A. Smith talks about Kevin Durant, Kevin Durant is mad. It’s just athletes. Athletes don’t like to hear the negative, but the reality is there’s always going to be negative. You will never please everyone and we, the ‘talking heads’ as we’re called, we’re paid to talk about you. So you better hope we’re talking about you because the moment we stop, you become irrelevant, and that’s the real problem. So you want us all discussing – if a Monday comes and you’re in the topic, you better be happy because there’s going to be a time when nobody’s talking about you and there will be no articles, there will be no interviews, and that’s your biggest enemy. So instead of being upset about what’s being said, just be happy that these people with these platforms are speaking about you and keeping you in the forefront.”
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