Daniel Cormier won’t be squashing his beef with Jon Jones after UFC 214

This Saturday night, in the main event of UFC 214, Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones will finally settle their score – knock on wood. Their main event title fight will mark the latest crescendo in one of the fiercest rivalries in MMA, a rivalry Jones recently said he’d be willing to put to bed post-fight.

“This rivalry ends at UFC 214 and after (the fight), I honestly have no problem with Daniel Cormier,” Jones told FloCombat.com. “If he wants to be friends, be a sportsman and realize I’m just the better fighter, that would be great. It would show a lot about who he is. I doubt he’ll do that though based on how he acted the first time I beat him.”

In an interview during last Saturday’s UFC on Fox 25 broadcast, Cormier responded to this statement from Jones, and from the sounds of it, the hatchet will not be buried, no matter the outcome of the UFC 214 main event.

“In terms of respect for his abilities, sure — he’s a great fighter. I’ve always said he’s a great fighter,” Cormier said (h/t Nick Baldwin of BloodyElbow.com). “But every time going forward we see each other, there’s still going to be issues, because either I’m going to smack him upside his head, or something’s going to happen. We’re not going to be friends, and we’re never going to be able to be in the same space, because there will always be issues, because he’s a punk.”

Cormier and Jones have met once before, back in January of 2015. On that night, Jones emerged the victor with a unanimous decision. Unfortunately, he was stripped of the title shortly thereafter. Cormier then claimed the vacant throne with a submission win over Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, and has held the title ever since.

Do you think Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones will ever squash their beef?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 7/24/2017.