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Daniel Cormier’s First Title Defense Takes Place In the Shadow of Jon Jones

Dana White Angling for Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier Rematch for UFC 214

Light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier puts his title on the line for the first time at UFC 192 on Saturday against Alexander Gustafsson at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. While “DC” legitimately won the vacant title by finishing Anthony Johnson at UFC 187 in May, the shadow of stripped champion Jon Jones still looms over the 205-pound division.

Cormier was coming off a loss to Jones when he stepped in to face Johnson after Jones was forced out the UFC 187 main event. Jones was ultimately stripped of his title and suspended by the fight promotion for his involvement in a hit-and-run incident in Albuquerque in late April.

RELATED > Jon Jones Pleads Guilty at Hit-and-Run Hearing

Jones also holds a win over Gustafsson. Leading up to UFC 192, neither fighter could escape the questions about the former light heavyweight kingpin.

“The thing that’s really [expletive] up is that we live our day-to-day lives normal, and we don’t worry about Jones. But you guys will ask us questions about this guy and then the headline will make it sound as though I’m over here stewing about Jon Jones. I could really give a [expletive] about Jon Jones. I care about beating Alexander Gustafsson,” said Cormier during a media conference call.

“If Jones is the next guy, Jones is the next guy. If it’s Rashad Evans, if it’s Ryan Bader, it doesn’t matter who the next guy is. But it’s hard to really answer these questions about this guy and allow him to actually just sit and continue to almost reign over this division when he’s disqualified himself from competition because you guys continue to ask us questions about him,” a frustrated Cormier added.

Jones did disqualify himself from competition. The title is in Cormier’s hands because of Jones’ poor decisions outside of the cage, but that’s exactly why Jones continues to be brought up. While Cormier legitimately won the championship, he did not defeat the champion.

Cormier has labled Jones “the greatest fighter of all time” in interviews. No matter how much he tries to emerge from Jones’ shadow, no matter how much he doesn’t like being asked the questions, Cormier’s career will always be incomplete without a rematch against “Bones.”

“Everybody should want Jon Jones back. It’s not just me. Obviously, I’m the one that is asked about it more because I have the championship. But I think every guy in this division should want him to come back to have the opportunity to compete against that guy,” said Cormier. “So everybody should want him back.”

On Sept. 29, Jones entered a guilty plea to the hit-and-run charges and accepted a plea deal. He was placed on an 18-month probation and must do 72 speaking appearances with youth groups. As part of the plea deal, Jones was granted a conditional discharge, which means that if he meets all the terms the judge set for him, he will avoid having a felony go on his record. There were no travel restrictions placed upon his personal work schedule.

While Cormier puts his title on the line for the first time against Gustafsson on Saturday, Jones awaits reinstatement by the UFC. Regardless who emerges from UFC 192 with the belt, they'll still be asked about Jones.

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