Daniel Cormier feels he’s been negatively impacted by Jon Jones’ past troubles.
The reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight title holder will defend his gold against Jones in the main event of UFC 214. The two are set to meet again inside the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on July 29.
Since he won the title back in May 2015, some fans have called Cormier a “fake champion.” Going by the logic of naysayers, Cormier’s Jan. 2015 loss to “Bones” diminishes his legitimacy as champion.
During a recent appearance on Luke Thomas’ Sirius XM Rush show, Cormier said he’s feeling the heat due to Jones’ decision making (MMAJunkie.com):
“Even though I am champion, because of the things that he’s done to get in that situation, people never really, truly respect me as they should. Not only are they not respecting me as they should, they’re discrediting everything I have done. So, it’s not off limits. And my whole thing is this. … Some guy said this to me: ‘Daniel, if you knew the struggle, you would never say the things you say.’ And I said, ‘Well, I don’t know the struggle, because I know how dangerous it is. So I don’t mess with it.’ … You’re not born with addiction issues. You make the choice to start to mess with that.”
