UFC 200 has a new main event, and it’s the highly anticipated rematch between pound for pound great Jon Jones and his nemesis Daniel Cormier. The two traded numerous verbal barbs with each other leading up to their first fight, and even got into a brawl during a press appearance that saw the two light heavyweights crash from the stage into the crowd.
Now that the rematch has been locked in for the UFC’s big July 9th card, the animosity is already back up to previous levels. In the latest episode of UFC Embedded, the cameras caught an exchange between Jon and Daniel during an appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America showing just how much respect the two have for each other. Transcription via Deadspin:
Jones: “I made you cry in front of the world.”
Cormier: “Hey, that’s passion!”
Jones “Shut the f**k up.”
Cormier: “Can’t stand you.”
Jones: “Shut up, pussy boy.”
Cormier: “Bum.”
Jones: “Pussy boy.”
Cormier: “Bum. It’s gonna be light work.”
At that point, PR pulled Cormier out of the shot and took him back to his hotel as Jones continued to reference the moment after their first fight when Cormier broke down and cried in the arms of his training partner and former UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez. It seems like Jones has embraced the role of villain in this fight. The last time around he only taunted Cormier when the cameras were off, as revealed in a leaked video from ESPN.
Now he’s willing to throw the same sort of heat around on the set of Good Morning America. Will his fighting be on par with his trash talking? He looked more human than we’ve ever seen him in his recent fight against late replacement Ovince Saint Preux at UFC 197. He may be hoping a little extra trash talk makes up for the ring rust he’s accumulated over a year of dealing with legal issues outside of the Octagon.