Daniel Cormier delivers reality check on Jon Jones’s legacy, insists leaving UFC was quitting, not retiring

Jon Jones' long-time rival, Daniel Cormier, thinks Jones chose to leave the UFC because he decided to quit rather than retire. Jones' retirement was announced by UFC CEO Dana White at the UFC Baku post-fight presser last month.

While half of the MMA community was happy and thought Jones' decision to hang up the gloves was the appropriate one at this time in his career, some were upset that he would not be competing against Tom Aspinall.

Now, 'DC' has branded 'Bones' as a quitter for retiring and not fighting Aspinall. Appearing on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, he quipped:

"Jon quit. It's true. Call it what it is. Jon quit. Bro, I said this on my YouTube channel when Jon Jones and I were fighting, he says, 'I will see in the octagon a 38-year-old man while I'm just entering into my prime.' Those words are now the exact same words that can be spoken to him on the other side. When the words were related to him, he said I'm out. I'm not doing it. That's why I said he quit."

The UFC Hall of Famer then added why Jones did not decide to quit earlier:

"He could have said that a long time ago. Because you know why he didn't. He was trying to convince himself that he still could put in the work necessary to go beat this dude. Jon Jones and Stipe [Miocic] fought when there was an interim champion. He fights a dude who hasn't fought for three years. If he would have walked away, we would've said what an ending for your last fight. But instead, he waited, and that's where the mistake was."

'DC' also said that if he were here in Jones' place, he would have fought Aspinall already:

"If I was Jon Jones, as scary as this was to fight Tom Aspinall, I would have fought him already."

Check out Daniel Cormier's comments below:

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Daniel Cormier believes Jon Jones would have beaten Tom Aspinall

On the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Daniel Cormier also stated that if Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall had to fight now, Jones would have beaten Aspinall, as the Brit has never been pushed into the championship rounds.

"Gun to my head, I would have said Jon Jones will beat him right now. Tom was never pushed to those championship rounds...You needed to fight Tom now when he doesn't have those experience, especially as Jon Jones."

Check out Daniel Cormier's comments below (23:19):

In another YouTube video on his channel, Cormier also said that if Aspinall loses his upcoming bout, Jones could come back.

Meanwhile, Jones has again entered the testing pool and has left the door open for a UFC return in the potential 2026 UFC event at the White House, announced by American president Donald Trump and seconded by Dana White.