Suppressed but not settled, Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier rivalry rages on

By Case Keefer (contact)

Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015 | 2 a.m.

MGM Grand’s status as the largest hotel in the world is proving helpful.

Two of the most bitter and dangerous enemies checked in earlier this week. Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier have yet to encounter each other roaming the more than 100 acres on the property.

“I haven’t run into him at all,” Jones said Wednesday at a media event adjacent to the MGM Grand sports book. “I saw him. We were both doing satellite interviews, so I walked past his room…but we haven’t actually engaged with each other at all.”

There’s been no potential for a reprise of their lobby brawl in August. No chance for an exchange like the one before a Sportscenter appearance that’s now relived on loop in a promotional ad. No squabbling that pervaded through every other previous press-tour stop.

And, with all of that in mind, many are suggesting no rivalry before the two light heavyweights meet for a championship belt in the main event of UFC 183 Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The tension between Jones (20-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) and Cormier (15-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) seems suddenly minimized.

The only thing they’re unified on, however, is that the animosity lingers as heavily as casino-floor cigarette smoke even if it’s just puffing in the background.

“In terms of the heat between us, I don’t think that’s gone anywhere,” Cormier said. “I just now think that now you see two guys that are only (three) days away from fighting. Like what’s the point in us yelling and screaming at each other anymore? That’s done.”

The real test of their restraint will come today when they square off at a press conference and Friday after they pose again after weighing in. Until then, they’ve shared enough words through the media to debunk any conspiratorial insinuations of a secret friendship or respect.

The rare compliment is always backhanded. Take when a reporter asked Jones what he likes about the 5-foot-11 Cormier, who once weighed 265 pounds before he started fighting.

“You look at him, and his body type doesn’t scream athlete but he’s been able to do some amazing things both in the sport of wrestling and in his MMA career,” Jones said. “So, I think he can be somewhat of an inspiration for people who are built like him and it proves that you can do great things just with the matter of your mindset and how you use your body.”

Cormier, a two-time Olympic wrestler, would have felt remiss not to respond.

“Well, I can grab the rim of a basketball (hoop),” Cormier said. “Jon Jones is 6-foot-4 and he can’t dunk a basketball, so who’s the athlete?”

Jones laughed and admitted it was true. His vertical’s not much. He never had the ability to reach the professional level in other sports — unlike his brothers Arthur Jones and Chandler Jones who play defensive line in the NFL for Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots, respectively — but he’s a phenom turned all-time great in mixed martial arts.

Jones already holds most of the meaningful records in the 205-pound division, including seven title defenses and nine stoppage victories. He’s landed 824 significant strikes and recorded a 97 percent takedown defense, both all-time records.

“Cormier needs to do everything he can to build himself up,” Jones said. “Right now, his mental game is important. He’s going to say everything he can. He’s a great talker, a commentator for a reason.”

Cormier dislikes when Jones references his job as a host of UFC Tonight on Fox Sports 1 ahead of his credentials as a fighter. The former Strikeforce heavyweight champion has never lost a round, never gotten taken down and never been out struck.

Cormier would have bristled at Jones calling him “a commentator” a few months back. He said the hostility was heightened when they were forced to spend time around each other to promote a bout months away.

But now it’s time to fight.

“There’s nothing that could be said or anything to change the outcome of this fight,” Jones said. “The work is done. The camp is over. For me to sit here and be unprofessional and try to insult him and come at him and get in this bickering mess to sell a few more pay-per-views, I don’t need to.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.