DUE TO THE self-destructive nature of his life over the past two years, there were times when Jon Jones’ rematch with Daniel Cormier seemed destined never to happen.
However, barring any last-minute mishaps, the two men who form the biggest rivalry that currently exists in the Ultimate Fighting Championship will finally clash for the second time tonight at the Honda Centre in Anaheim, Los Angeles, California.
When they first locked horns, Jones was the man in possession of the belt and Cormier was the eager challenger. Now the tables have turned, but events inside the octagon weren’t responsible for Jones relinquishing the light-heavyweight title.
Their rivalry stretches back to 2014, when Jones was originally scheduled to defend his belt in a rematch with Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 178 in September of that year. When Gustafsson was forced to withdraw due to an injury, the undefeated Cormier was rewarded with a title shot having moved down from heavyweight the previous February.
At a press conference to promote the fight in the lobby of the MGM Grand, the pair butted heads before Jones threw a punch and chaos ensued. According to Cormier, the bad blood between the pair had existed since they first met several years earlier, when Jones told the former Olympic wrestler that he’d have no problem taking him down.
Due to an injury to Jones, the fight was delayed until UFC 182 in January 2015. It wasn’t the classic contest the fans were hoping for, but Jones delivered an accomplished performance nevertheless, dropping just one of the five rounds en route to a unanimous-decision victory — and scoring three takedowns in the process.
The win represented an eighth consecutive title defence for the youngest champion in UFC history, but there was trouble on the horizon. Three days later it emerged that Jones tested positive for cocaine in an out-of-competition sample which was taken a month before the fight.
There was much worse to come for Jones just three months later. A month prior to his scheduled title defence against Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson, Jones was at the centre of a hit-and-run incident in Albuquerque. His car struck a vehicle which was being driven by a pregnant woman and he later turned himself into police.
The UFC took the decision to strip Jones of his title and placed him on indefinite suspension. Cormier capitalised. Just over four months after failing in his first UFC title bout by losing his undefeated record, Cormier overcame Johnson via third-round submission to become the UFC light-heavyweight champion.
Jones ultimately escaped a prison sentence and he returned to defeat Ovince Saint-Preux with a solid but unspectacular performance in April 2016, claiming an interim light-heavyweight title with his first appearance in the octagon in 15 months.
That set up a unification bout with Cormier at UFC 200 the following July, but another Jones controversy pulled the plug on the rematch on the eve of the fight. It was revealed by USADA that the New York native tested positive for a banned substance.
Although the United States Anti-Doping Agency accepted Jones’ defence that a contaminated sex pill was responsible for the test failure, he was ultimately handed a one-year suspension — which expired earlier this month, freeing Jones to bid to regain his title at the expense of his biggest rival, who has prospered in his absence.
Due mainly to his grinding style, Cormier has never been an overwhelmingly popular champion, but his method has so far been effective. The only doubt that hangs over the 38-year-old’s head relates to Jon Jones. Until he gets the better of the man he succeeded as title-holder, will there be an asterisk beside his reign as champion?
“This is my era,” Cormier said this week. “If I win on Saturday night, I’m the greatest fighter ever. Why is it not my era? Because he beat me one time?”
Many regard Jones as the greatest ever to compete in mixed martial arts, but he needs to rebound from this turbulent period to maintain a legitimate claim to such an accolade. He has spoken recently of a “need to get my life back”, but unless he manages to return to form in the octagon, he may always be known as the man who threw it all away.
The meeting of Cormier and Jones is just one of three title fights on tonight’s bill for UFC 214, which is undoubtedly the organisation’s best offering of 2017. Tyron Woodley’s third defence as welterweight champion is against jiu-jitsu expert Demian Maia, who’s on a run of seven straight wins. Meanwhile, Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino will be expected to get her hands on the vacant women’s featherweight title at Tonya Evinger’s expense.
The eyes of the combat sports world may be transfixed on August 26, but there’s enough quality throughout the UFC 214 card to provide a brief distraction at least from the upcoming boxing bout between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor.
Whether you’re staying up or setting your alarm for the early hours, this card is definitely worth the sleep deprivation — and that’s before we’ve even mentioned the likes of Robbie Lawler versus Donald Cerrone and Aljamain Sterling versus Renan Barao.
It hasn’t been said very often this year about UFC pay-per-view cards, but this one is not to be missed.
UFC 214
Main card (3am — BT Sport 2)
Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones
Tyron Woodley vs. Demian Maia
Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Justino vs. Tonya Evinger
Robbie Lawler vs. Donald Cerrone
Jimi Manuwa vs. Volkan Oezdemir
Prelims (1am — BT Sport 2 and UFC Fight Pass)
Ricardo Lamas vs. Jason Knight
Aljamain Sterling vs. Renan Barao
Brian Ortega vs. Renato Moicano
Andre Fili vs. Calvin Kattar
Early prelims (11.30pm — UFC Fight Pass)
Kailin Curran vs. Alexandra Albu
Eric Shelton vs. Jarred Brooks
Josh Burkman vs. Drew Dober
