Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier have reignited their longstanding rivalry following recent comments by Cormier regarding Jones’s place among mixed martial arts’ greatest fighters. During a recent episode of the podcast Club Shay Shay, Cormier told Shannon Sharpe that he cannot consider his former opponent to be the greatest of all time due to Jones’s past positive test for Turinabol, an anabolic steroid, before their rematch at UFC 214. Cormier also excluded Jones from his personal Mount Rushmore.
Following the airing of Cormier’s interview, Jones responded via social media. He stated, “When DC tells his story, somehow I’m always the co-star (… ) Thanks [Shannon Sharpe] for the invite, even if I was only there in spirit.” In another post, Jones expressed frustration over continued accusations related to performance-enhancing drugs: “High school state champ, JUCO national champ, youngest UFC champion, greatest in MMA history (… ) A lifetime of loss, victories and sacrifice and this guy wants to write it all off as steroids. Honestly, it’s insulting. But I can’t help but laugh, knowing it was God given abilities that made him feel so inferior.”
Jones’s record includes several controversies related to drug testing. After winning against Cormier by knockout in July 2017 at UFC 214 in Anaheim—an event both samples tested positive for Turinabol—the result was changed to No Contest. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) stripped him of the light heavyweight title and reinstated Cormier as champion. Prior incidents include being removed from UFC 200 after testing positive for estrogen blockers; on that occasion Anderson Silva replaced Jones as Cormier’s opponent.
After defending the heavyweight championship with a victory over Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 last November and previously defeating Ciryl Gane by submission at UFC 285 in March 2023, Jones reportedly informed UFC management of his retirement following June’s event in Baku and vacated the belt. Tom Aspinall then assumed undisputed champion status after serving as interim titleholder.
Despite announcing retirement and vacating his title earlier this year, Jones has rejoined the drug-testing pool hoping to compete again at a proposed Independence Day event scheduled for July 2026 at the White House. However, according to multiple statements by UFC CEO Dana White—who said “Jones will not compete at the event” and called his participation odds “a billion-to-one”—a return appears uncertain.
