Next weekend, Jon Jones will finally return to the cage after a 17-month layoff to rematch Alexander Gustafsson for the soon-to-be-vacated light heavyweight title. But though Jones has a title fight rematch with arguably his toughest opponent on the horizon, it’s the man who is about to vacate the 205-pound belt that seems to be on his mind.

Three weeks ago, Cormier made an appearance on the Jim Rome Podcast where he addressed Jones’ comments about the banned substances being found in his system being negligible, saying that he has always conceded that Jones won their two fights, but questioning why Jones has continually failed drug tests regardless of how small the amount in his system was.

“My deal’s this, I never once said he didn’t win the fight. I’ve [never] said that. Even when people would tell me ‘no you didn’t get a fair shake, it’s not cool, he cheated’, I said the guy won the fights,” Cormier said. “Because I’ve always said, I’m sure he’s not the only guy I’ve ever fought who’s on steroids. I’ve always said that. I’ve been very open about that. But when you say a pinch of salt — why was the pinch of salt there? Why was it there with no explanation of why it got there? That’s my question. Why didn’t I have a pinch of salt in the swimming pool? That’s where my issue is. You win the fight, go ahead and win the fight but don’t leave anything to question is my response. Don’t have a pinch of salt. Don’t have tainted sex pills. Just don’t have that stuff and then we never have these discussions to discredit the things that you have done. That’s my response.”

Discrediting his “pinch of salt” defense seems to have made Jones full on salty because after that interview resurfaced recently, Jones jumped on Twitter and fired shots at “Daddy’s baby” for “whining” and running away.

After Cormier won the heavyweight title at UFC 226, it appeared that the two rivals might finally be able to have some semblance of a cordial relationship. Neither was particularly interested in a third fight with the other and, with Cormier retiring in 2019, it appeared they could go their separate ways. Then Jones negotiated a deal with USADA that saw his suspension (for failing the drug test that had him stripped of the light heavyweight title) end abruptly and suddenly Jones was eligible to compete again before Cormier retired. The two have been sniping back and forth at each other through the media since then and Jones is now more than willing to fight Cormier for a third go round, even taking a shot at Cormier’s “Double Champ” moniker for good measure.

Cormier is still currently both the UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion. This year he became the first fighter in UFC history to successfully defend belts in multiple divisions when he beat Derrick Lewis at UFC 230. Cormier intends to defend his heavyweight title early next year against Brock Lesnar and then retire when he turns 40 in March, but UFC President Dana White is hoping they can convince him to stick around for one more dance with Jon Jones. Given the way these two bicker, it seems like a good bet they’ll be able to do just that.

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MUST-READ STORIES

Declined. Jon Jones’ team declines CSAC proposal to enroll in VADA.

Debuts. Eddie Alvarez, Demetrious Johnson to make ONE Championship debuts on March 31 in Japan.

Goals. Anderson Silva says he only has three fights left, still wants fight Conor McGregor.

New job. John Kavanagh, Scott Viscomi named regional presidents of Wimp 2 Warrior.

Out. Lauren Murphy withdraws from UFC on ESPN fight vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith to recover from surgery.

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VIDEO STEW

The A-Side Live Chat.

Anderson Silva on TMZ.

TTTHS.

Every finish from Rumble’s UFC career is a fun watch. Had no idea Rogan said Rumble “looks like a 205-pounder” way back when he fought Yoshida.

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LISTEN UP

The MMA Bunker. A retrospective on the UFC’s tenure with FOX.

Bushido Talk. Discussing Dana vs. Oscar, Dominick Cruz being out, and Vitor’s comeback.

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Conor retweeted this post from 2017 in solidarity with Jon.

Won’t be his last one, I’m sure.

Congratulations.

Statement.

Doing well.

Self-belief.

Inspirational.

Black belt.

Tony playing Jingle Bells on his speed bag.

Wow. That’s some commitment right there.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Weber Almeida (1-0) vs. Odan Chinchilla (1-0); Bellator 214, Jan. 26.

Jack Marshman (22-8) vs. John Phillips (21-8); UFC London, Match 16.

Demetrious Johnson (27-3-1) vs. Yuya Wakamatsu (10-3); ONE Championship, March 31.

Eddie Alvarez (29-6, 1 NC) vs. Timofey Nastyukhin (12-4); ONE Championship, March 31.

Eduard Folayang (21-6) vs. Shinya Aoki (42-8); ONE Championship, March 31.

Jingnan Xiong (13-1) vs. Angela Lee (9-0); ONE Championship, March 31.

Aung La Nsang (24-10) vs. Ken Hasegawa (16-3-1); ONE Championship, March 31.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Jon starting to sound a little thirsty for a man with two wins over a guy. I mean, honestly, Cormier wasn’t saying anything disrespectful, basically just “well, you can say you’re a victim but the common denominator here is you.” Honestly, there are a lot of fighters with a lot less means that never have issues with USADA. It doesn’t seem like it should be that hard. Anyway, we’re definitely gonna get a triology next summer. Only question is whether it’s at heavyweight or 205.

Thanks for reading and see y’all tomorrow.

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EXIT POLL

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