Jon Jones: Daniel Cormier admitted being my enemy has made him too much money
· Yahoo Sports
Jon Jones revealed that a private conversation with Daniel Cormier proved they're no longer bitter rivals.
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Jones and Cormier engaged in one of the biggest rivalries in UFC history which saw two light heavyweight title fights. Jones was the first fighter to hand Cormier an MMA loss when he beat him by unanimous decision at UFC 182, and went onto knock him out at UFC 214 – which was later overturned to a no contest when Jones tested positive for a turinabol metabolite.
Fast forward almost a decade later, and Jones and Cormier found themselves coaching ALF Global's "Alf Reality" series – a Russian spinoff from "The Ultimate Fighter." Their bickering continued there, but Jones claims Cormier amps it up for the cameras.
"I would shake his hand if I had the opportunity to," Jones said in an interview with ALF Global. "I attempted to create some sort of a positive relationship with him multiple times throughout the TV show. One time we were sitting down on the couch together and I said, 'Isn't this nice for us to just sit here, no problems, just enjoying the moment?' He goes, 'Yeah this is nice, but Jon being your enemy has made me too much money over the years. So even though I have no problem with you, when the cameras turn on I can never be your friend in front of people.'
People thinking that we hate each other is very lucrative to me, and I want it to be like this.' And I said, 'OK, alright, cool,' but I respect him for telling me that he actually doesn't hate me. To him, there's a part of it that's business. There's probably another side inside of him where I'll never be his favorite person because I beat him in a time where he was considered one of the greatest fighters on the planet. I'm the one person that has come between him and being considered one of the greatest fighters ever. Myself and I guess Stipe Miocic."
Although Cormier never beat Jones, he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame as a former dual-champion who defended both his light heavyweight and heavyweight titles.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Jon Jones: Daniel Cormier admitted being my enemy has made him too much money