Daniel Cormier: 'I don't believe Jon Jones should be considered the greatest of all time'

Who is the greatest fighter of all time?

Many, including UFC CEO Dana White believes former two-division champion Jon Jones is the G.O.A.T., but others will argue that it’s Georges St-Pierre. Former middleweight titleholder Anderson Silva’s name typically gets mentioned as well as Demetrious Johnson’s. Khabib Nurmagomedov’s undefeated career also sneaks into the conversation.

While no one can take away any of those fighters’ accomplishments inside the cage, former two-division champion Daniel Cormier thinks steroid use disqualifies Jones and Silva.

“I don’t believe he (Jones) should be considered the greatest of all time,” Cormier told Shannon Sharpe during an appearance on Club Shay Shay.

“Steroids in fighting is much different than anything else in the world,” continued Cormier. “You just can’t have that tied to your name, especially in fighting, and people call you the greatest of all time. He’s the greatest talent the sport has ever seen.”

“In terms of the best fighter of all time, I would never give (Jones) that because of that.” 

If you were able to build a fighter to compete in the light heavyweight or heavyweight divisions, Cormier believes Jones checks all the boxes of what you’d want.

Related: Dana White says Jon Jones has ‘a billion to one’ chance of being on White House event, Jones responds

“He’s by far the most talented person that we’ve had in mixed martial arts. In terms of his length, his skills, his mind. He’s the most talented guy we’ve ever had,” Cormier said. “He’s the best athlete we’ve ever had.”

Cormier and Jones had one of the most intense rivalries in UFC history. Jones holds “two wins” over “DC.” The second one was ruled a no contest after Jones tested positive for a turinabol metabolite. It’s not the dislike of Jones that fuels Cormier’s opinion on G.O.A.T. status. For the same reasons, he doesn’t think Anderson Silva should be considered either. 

“Anderson had the steroid, so I can’t put Anderson,” Cormier said. “I can’t do that. Not in fighting.”

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