Jones seems open to the bout, but he doubts that Cormier will return to the light heavyweight division.
“He’s definitely never coming back to light heavyweight,” Jones said on Dan Hardy’s Open Mat (via Fernanda Prates of MMA Junkie). “He says it, but there’s no way he’s coming back to light heavyweight. To commit your life to lose that type of weight and to come up short again would be so devastating. It would take an incredible amount of courage to attempt it, and to come up short would just be so devastating. I doubt he’d put himself through that for a third time.”
Cormier did say he’d meet Jones at light heavyweight for a potential third fight, but has been competing exclusively at heavyweight since UFC 226 in July of last year.
The light heavyweight champion also wants the bout to be at 205 pounds so DC doesn’t have any added advantages in a potential third fight.
“I’m a realist,” Jones said. “Daniel Cormier is a special athlete and anyone can be beat. I think my greatest chance of losing would be to a guy like Daniel Cormier. We’d be giving him a power and strength advantage over me; it just doesn’t make sense. Right now, I make light heavyweight very easily, and it would just make no sense to fight a guy who, I think, technically (is) on your level and to give him a size advantage. I’m not doing it. I’m sure my fans don’t like to hear me talk like that, but that’s just me being a realist – and being respectful of Daniel’s abilities.”
DC must first get past Miocic at UFC 241, while Jones is defending the light heavyweight gold against Thiago Santos at UFC 239.
