After 14 months of speculation on what punishment Jon “Bones” Jones would be facing following his second failed test for performance-enhancing supplements, the answer came on September 19. Jones was slapped with a 15-month retroactive suspension, allowing him to return to the Octagon conveniently one week before UFC 230 at Madison Square Garden. With Jones able to fight again, it seems he’s destined to fight his bitter rival Daniel “DC” Cormier for the heavyweight belt. Bones has opened as a -225 favorite while the champ comes back at +175.
Jones vs Cormier 1
The first battle between these men saw Jones absolutely dominate the fight for a unanimous-decision victory. The New York native, Jones (-205), outstruck the Louisiana native, Cormier (+175), 92-58 while also securing three takedowns to Cormier’s one. The defeat was the first in DC’s career.
Jones had his light heavyweight belt stripped ahead of his scheduled fight with Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, after he was involved in a hit-and-run situation that left a pregnant woman with a broken arm. The UFC suspended the star athlete and took his belt. Cormier replaced Jones at UFC 187 to fight Johnson and subsequently claimed the title.
UFC 200
Jones returned from suspension and was set to attempt to reclaim his title against Cormier at UFC 197. However, Cormier had to pull out of the fight with a foot injury and Ovince Saint Preux stepped in for DC and an interim championship was up for grabs. The former champ handled OSP pretty easily for a unanimous-decision victory. The stage was then set for Jones to have his rematch with Cormier at UFC 200.
Everything was looking good for this highly anticipated rematch – Cormier looked like he had bounced back from his first-ever loss, while Jones looked primed and ready to get his belt back. However, Bones’ out-of-cage antics got him in trouble again as he was removed from the card just three days before it took place by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) following a doping violation. Several months later, Jones was suspended for a year retroactive to July 7 and once again he was stripped of his interim title.
Jones vs Cormier 2
On July 29, 2017, the UFC was setting up shop at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Jones’ suspension ended three weeks prior and he was free to fight for the belt again vs Cormier. This time nothing got in the way of these two warriors getting in the Octagon for the second time.
DC closed at +260 and looked much-improved in his striking the second time around, putting suffocating pressure on Jones (-310). Cormier was moving well, looked strong and was a man on a mission to avenge his only loss. But trouble struck in the third round and that trouble was the left high kick by Bones that started the end of the fight. Jones landed the kick and finished the fight by TKO, reclaiming his title, and once again Cormier was left in the Octagon wondering what went wrong.
However, it came out three weeks later that once again Jones had failed another drug test and the fight was changed to a no contest and DC got his belt back. The performance enhancer in question this time was called Turinabol, which is an anabolic steroid, and the former two-time champion was now facing a four-year suspension.
Jones vs Cormier 3
There had been no news for a considerable time on whether the book would be thrown at Jones for his second failed drug test and ultimately the third suspension. There were plenty of questions surrounding the circumstances of the latest drug failure, as the amount was quite small and the tests around the failed one all came back negative. No news, that is, until September 19, one day before the UFC 229 press conference for Conor McGregor vs Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Jones was given a 15-month retroactive suspension, making him eligible to fight at the end of October one week before UFC 230 at MSG, which currently doesn’t have a main event. In the 14 months Jones has been out, Cormier has moved up to heavyweight and claimed that belt to become one of only five all-time fighters to win belts in two different weight classes.
So now, Cormier holding a brand new belt in a division Jones has never stepped foot in, we look at a trilogy fight but this time in the heavyweight division.
At heavyweight, Cormier looks unstoppable. He now has much more power due to not cutting weight, while still having his Olympic wrestling pedigree. Meanwhile, Jones has freakish strength of his own and perhaps that can be displayed more without him cutting weight. It’s very rare to see a younger athlete win twice vs an older athlete and not have the same outcome in a rematch. The old saying is “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” Well, we may be just insane enough to pay money to watch these men fight again.
It is not surprising to see the 31-year-old Jones open as such a big favorite at -225 as he only has one blemish on his record. That came when he landed an illegal elbow that resulted in disqualification; his other 23 fights have been one-sided for the most part. Cormier’s confidence is riding high after becoming a two-division champ and being the more active guy may work in his favor and at +175 it may draw you in but I say stay away. Jones is in Cormier’s head. He has beaten him twice and there’s no reason to believe it won’t happen a third time.
- Jon Jones -225
- Daniel Cormier +175
