Jon Jones Says Daniel Cormier Has Had No Progression In Two Years

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Jon Jones took some shots at his UFC 214 opponent and UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. The two will fight this Saturday from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. It airs on PPV after preliminary fights on FXX and UFC Fight Pass. Here are highlights:

On not being impressed with Cormier: “My last fight against Ovince Saint Preux, a lot of people said it wasn’t very impressive after a year layoff, but I did enough to win the fight and I felt like I really didn’t show much. He’s been extremely active and I see that he has made almost zero progression in the last two years. I’m glad he feels he has the upper hand in the striking division. (The layoff) given me time to just kind of reevaluate myself, my personal life and my career. I’ve been able to add things to my game that I didn’t have before. I feel totally rejuvenated and ready to go.”

On if he can succeed after a long hiatus: “I’ve done it once before – my last fight I took a year off. This time it’s one fight in two years. The reason I know why I’m going to win this fight is because I have an inner belief that this is my era, that this is what I was put on the earth to do. I feel like I’m gifted and talented and extremely hard working. It really stems from a really deep level of self belief. The people at home know who the real guy is in this division. I think Daniel looks for ways around trying to validate himself as a champion. I think to the true fight fans, they know whether Jon is an angel or a bad guy or whatever, he’s a badass. Until you beat (me), no one will really look at him as the baddest dude of his era.”

On if he’s the greatest: “I believe that I’m already the greatest fighter of all time. My record speaks for itself. I’ve beaten six Hall of Famers already. My resume is incomparable to anybody in our sport. This fight, it’s huge for my legacy. Every fight is huge for my legacy. My legacy is the accumulation of what I do. It’s extremely important. I try not to look at one fight as more important than another one. It’s just another match. You just have to focus on what you can in training to prepare for that match. I try not to make things bigger than what it is.”