UFC analyst begs Jon Jones not to ‘become what Conor has become’

Daniel Cormier doesn’t want Jon Jones to end up like Conor McGregor in his post UFC life.

Jones, the former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion, retired last month. His retirement came after months of speculation as to whether he could be convinced to fight England’s Tom Aspinall. In the end, it never happened.

Jones has already been teasing a return to competition, but Cormier seems to be hoping for the opposite. Speaking on his podcast with Chael Sonnen, Cormier expressed his hope that Jones will quietly ride off into the sunset, instead of endlessly teasing comeback fights — something McGregor has been doing for years.

Cormier tells Jones ‘don’t make it about you’

“Jon Jones and I don’t see eye-to-eye in most instances,” Cormier said of Jones (via Bloody Elbow). “And, boy, he’s been great for my YouTube here this last couple months. Him flopping all over the place has been great for my YouTube.

“Please don’t become what Conor has become in the media,” Cormier continued. “Every time a big story breaks, Conor’s like, I’m back, or I’m doing this…

“Don’t do that. Don’t try to make it about you when you voluntarily walked away from this. Conor didn’t voluntarily walk away. Conor got hurt, and he left. He just hasn’t come back.

“Jones voluntarily said I’m done. So now that he’s done, don’t try to make these stories about you whenever you’re a guy that’s supposed to have walked away from the game.

Cormier, of course, is the fiercest rival of Jones’ MMA career. The pair fought twice. Jones won the first encounter by decision. In the second, he knocked Cormier out, but the win was overturned when he tested positive for banned substances. Both fights were at light heavyweight. Cormier also held gold at heavyweight.

McGregor, like Jones and Cormier, is a two division UFC champ. He won his belts at featherweight and lightweight. He is not officially retired, but the odds of him fighting again seem ever slimmer. His last fight was in a 2021 loss to Dustin Poirier.