Daniel Cormier on Jon Jones’ new physique: “Maybe this guy is messing with what was given to him”

By Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones (photo credit Jayne Kamin-Oncea © USA Today)

“Maybe he feels that by getting stronger, it’s going to make him a better fighter. The reality is, when I saw him getting so bulky, as a competitor, I thought, ‘Wow, this isn’t bad for me.’ This isn’t bad for me as a competitor, because the Jon Jones that was kind of skinny and maybe wasn’t the bulkiest guy, it all worked, Helwani. It all worked. His body, the way his body was, it worked. It allowed him for range; it allowed him for optimal speed. It allowed him for quickness and agility. Looking at all the extra bulk, to me I was like, ‘Well, maybe this will slow him down. Maybe he won’t be the fastest guy. Maybe this guy is messing with what was given to him.’ In reality, what has been given to him is perfect… Now he’s gotten bigger. For me as a competitor, I thought, ‘Wow. You start messing with the recipe – the recipe that’s actually really, really good – maybe this opens up the door for some of his competitors.'”

-Daniel Cormier talks to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour about Jon Jones’ new, seemingly bulkier frame shown off recently on social media, and why he thinks that type of muscle could be a bad thing for Jones.

Penick’s Analysis: That sounds an awful lot like wishful thinking. It seems Jones has kept himself in significantly better shape while on suspension, rather than letting himself gain unneeded fat that doesn’t help him. Cormier’s projecting quite a bit onto a couple pictures shown by Jones, and the maybe this, maybe that line of thinking seems nothing more than him trying to convince himself that it’s going to be detrimental to Jones. It could wind up being the opposite, and Cormier should prepare as if that will be the case, not hope that Jones has messed up what brought him to the top.

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