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Daniel Cormier shares blunt view on ‘crushed’ Jon Jones after UFC White House snub
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- Daniel Cormier shares blunt view on ‘crushed’ Jon Jones after UFC White House snub
Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC
It says a lot when Daniel Cormier admits he is starting to feel sorry for Jon Jones.
Jones had been hoping for a spot on the UFC card at the White House but was overlooked and that did not sit well with him.
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He has since gone public, asking the UFC to release him from his contract after a very public disagreement with Dana White.
Daniel Cormier has sympathy for Jon Jones despite long-standing rivalry
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
The tension between Cormier and 'Bones' is well documented, but even 'DC' found it hard not to feel for his old rival after what happened.
During a podcast he co-hosts with Ben Askren, the 46-year-old made an admission: "I kind of felt bad for him.
"I felt bad for Jon because it just seemed like he wanted to fight on the card bad. He seemed crushed."
He also spoke about why this latest dispute between Jones and the UFC feels different from past issues.
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"I think this is kind of like a come-to-Jesus moment," 'DC' stated.
"At 28/29, no matter what he did, when he got that event cancelled with Chael [Sonnen], he was selling pay-per-views, so you had to go back to him.
"Now, at 38/39, he's got bad hip injuries and looks like he's on his way out. They are kind of like, 'You're not gonna prove value to me in the long term, so I don't think we need to bend over for you anymore.'"
Who else has spoken up for Jon Jones?
Jones has picked up a bit of backing after claiming he was hit with a 'lowball' offer to fight at the White House event on June 14.
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He said the UFC's offer was $15 million, which is exactly what Conor Benn is set to make for his Zuffa Boxing debut in July.
Jones had previously agreed to a $30 million purse to fight Tom Aspinall and expected a similar number to face Alex Pereira at heavyweight.
In a surprising turn, Tom Aspinall was the first fighter to speak out in support of Jones during his dispute with the UFC.
Francis Ngannou has also sided with Jones over his split with the promotion back in 2023.
And Ronda Rousey criticised UFC fighter pay when she was asked about the situation earlier this week.
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