UFC Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier originally planned to retire earlier this year after his 40th birthday, but he still has some unfinished business to take care of. First, Cormier will put his Heavyweight title on the line against Stipe Miocic at UFC 241 on August 17.
If victorious in that bout, DC wants another crack at Jon Jones before he officially calls it quits. Speaking with ESPN's Ariel Helwani, Cormier even said he's willing to fight Jones at Light Heavyweight because, "I have to get it right on the same terms."
Cormier (22-1-1) is winless against Jones (24-1-1) thus far in his career. Their first encounter at UFC 182 in 2015 ended with a unanimous decision, while Jones won via third-round KO in their second go-around in 2017. However, the second finish was ultimately ruled a "no contest" after Jones tested positive for the banned steroid turinabol.
"I don't need the deck stacked in my favor," Cormier said of fighting at 205 pounds, per ESPN. "My whole life I've overcome odds. I've faced uphill battle after uphill battle my entire life and I've always been able to get through it. This is one of the only things I've not been able to conquer. I need to go do it. I have to get it right."
"It's all I want," Cormier continued. "When I fight Jones, I feel most complete when I'm preparing for competition against that guy. It makes me train harder. It makes me train smarter. I do everything right in preparation, and I believe that if I do stick around that would be the fight that I do it for. It would be at 205 pounds because I need to go and get that back from him."
Before Dana White can begin planning the highly anticipated Cormier-Jones III, both fighters will first be putting their titles on the line.
Jones will defend his Light Heavyweight title against Thiago Santos in the main event of the stacked UFC 239 card on July 6, followed by Cormier vs Miocic on August 17.