Daniel Cormier has been very open about his belief that Jon Jones is one of the most talented fighters ever. But now, as the prospect of a second suspension for banned substances looms for Jones, Cormier also says that the UFC light heavyweight champion probably has to be taken out of any “Greatest of All Time” conversations.

Speaking recently with the Fight Society podcast, Cormier said that Jones has irreparably tarnished his legacy by the sheer volume of controversies surrounding him and that he probably doesn’t merit consideration as the GOAT.

"I think enough is enough now honestly, if I've got to be honest with you. I think it's very difficult to consider someone the greatest of all time when there are these types of allegations tied to them. I think that’s probably the easiest and the best way I could say it right now without going too far in one direction, just because I don't know. I've said it before that he's the greatest of all time. I've been in there with him twice and I know that he's a tremendous fighter, and I do believe he would have had a ton of success without doing anything wrong. But when you start tying those negative things to your name and your legacy, it's kind of hard to say this guy is the best fighter of all time."

Jones career has been a fascinating juxtaposition between in-cage excellence and outside-the-cage self-immolation. He’s amassed a 17-1 record with the lone blemish being an almost universally derided disqualification loss, setting the record for longest UFC light heavyweight championship reign and most title defenses in the division. But he has also been stripped of two titles for personal issues, with a third seemingly on the way.

And that is the crux of Cormier’s position. Even if he is cleared intentionally breaking the rules, Jones’ reckless attitude towards his own career is going to really hurt his legacy with fans.

“To me, it’s just being super careful with what you put in your body, what you’re around, that type of stuff. You can’t think that you can roll around in the dirt with bad people and not get dirty. That doesn’t happen. You have to be much more careful associating yourself with good people that have your best interests at hand. . .

“The problem is, even if they find him just negligent again, people aren’t very lenient when they find you negligent on multiple occasions.”

But legacy and immediate reaction are not the same categories. And while Cormier believes Jones has likely irreparably harmed his status as GOAT, the former UFC light heavyweight champion maintains that everyone should stop rushing to condemn Jones or strip him of the title before everything shakes out.

"I think people owe that to Jon and his team and everybody else, USADA, to give them time to get all this stuff done. Get that B sample in, make sure everything is tested thoroughly, and then we can all start to move forward. . .

“I think people want resolution to it faster than it can be had. I'm just kind of sitting here taking it for what it is because right now what he has done has not been confirmed. Will it be confirmed? Maybe. But as of right now, he still is entitled to the process.

"Now, is it upsetting? It's very upsetting. It's still very upsetting that we're going through this again. It's upsetting that anything like this could even happen and the more you learn about the thing that he was caught for, it makes it even more disappointing. But all you can do is wait for that B sample and see what happens."

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FINAL THOUGHTS

If you care about PEDs in MMA, then it feels like what Cormier is saying is correct. Don’t rush to condemn Jones for this failure until all is said and done. But at some point, if you’re debating GOAT status, the repeated nature of this stuff has to be a knock against his case. Just my two cents.

Take it easy and see y’all tomorrow.

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EXIT POLL

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