It sounds like Jon Jones is looking to fight Daniel Cormier for a third time — and he’ll even do a good deed if the current UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion agrees to a trilogy match. Jones – who meets Alexander Gustafsson for the soon-to-be vacant 205-pound title at UFC 232 on Dec. 29 in Las Vegas – said in a tweet early Thursday morning he’ll donate $100,000 to charity if “DC” fights him again.
“Fight me one more time and prove you’re actually the champ champ,” Jones wrote, directed at Cormier. “I’ll donate $100,000 to a charity in San Diego if you accept. Conor McGregor was an actual double Champ, the whole world knows your claim is a freaking joke.”
Jones and Cormier, of course, have a long history. They first met in early 2015, when Jones successfully defended his light heavyweight title against Cormier by decision. Due to legal troubles, Jones lost the title later that year, and Cormier has reigned over the division – excepting a brief interruption – ever since. Jones knocked out Cormier in July 2017 to re-capture the belt, but shortly thereafter failed a drug test for the steroid Turinabol, and thus Cormier was reinstated as champion (and the fight was overturned to a no contest). That was Jones’ second anti-doping offense.
Cormier won the heavyweight belt this past summer with a first-round knockout of Stipe Miocic, becoming the second fighter in UFC history to hold two titles at the same time. Conor McGregor was the first in November 2016. Cormier said, after becoming ‘double champ,’ he still planned on defending the light heavyweight title, but that has grown more and more unlikely, as he also plans to retire in March. Cormier defended the heavyweight championship for the first time last month against Derrick Lewis, but hasn’t defended the light heavyweight title since January.
With Cormier set to be stripped of his 205-pound belt at the commencement of Jones vs. Gustafsson 2 in just over two weeks, Jones said he is willing to let Cormier be his first challenger once he becomes UFC light heavyweight champion once again.
“You’re more than welcome to be my first title defense,” Jones wrote.
Jones said in October he has little desire of fighting Cormier a third time, because he has already beaten him twice. However, it seems ‘Bones’ is more open to the idea of defending his light heavyweight title (should he beat Gustafsson) against Cormier, rather than challenging Cormier for the heavyweight title.