Daniel Cormier reflects on "rooted in nasty" rivalry against Jon Jones and infamous hot mics exchange

Jon Jones will make his highly discussed comeback to the cage at UFC 309, and a man ubiquitously regarded as his arch-rival has been asked to look back on their feud. If you do an online search of the phrase "Jon Jones rivalry", multiple clips of 'Bones' interacting with Daniel Cormier would flood your screen.

Speaking with Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim on First Take (the clip was posted on the ESPN MMA YouTube channel), DC offered his insights on this weekend's pay-per-view main event. His opinion is especially valuable, considering the multiple fights he had against both Jones and his opponent on Saturday night, Stipe Miocic.

When asked about the broader history involving their viral hot mic moment, where Jones inquired about DC's cat, as well as their fights both inside and outside the confines of the cage, Cormier said:

"It's crazy because it really was the best time of your life when you don't even know it, right. You're in this crazy rivalry. You're fighting with this guy for the world championship, the world's watching. You're acting like idiots because we were fighting everywhere we go. Then ESPN set us up.

"They go; the hot mic thing where him and I were arguing, we had no idea. We were on mic, we were cursing live, it was crazy. It went viral, it was nuts. It really is one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports. It was real rooted in nasty. It was awesome [laughs]. Even I laugh when I see that. I think to myself like oh my goodness."

Check out Daniel Cormier reflecting back on his Jon Jones rivalry [0:17] below:

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Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier's pair of prizefights

Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier were engaged in one of the most storied rivalries in mixed martial arts history, which saw them enter the cage to do battle on two occasions.

The first instance of these two fighting took place in January 2015 as the headliner for UFC 182. The light heavyweight championship hung in the balance as the supremely dominant titleholder Jones prepared to clash with the then-undefeated pro-MMA fighter Cormier.

The former ufc-behind-scenes-legendary-female-star-s-battle-better-fighter-pay" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix champion put in a spirited enough effort, but it was still Jones emerging victorious when the dust settled. 'Bones' earned the win by way of a unanimous decision to once again defend his 205-pound belt.

Meanwhile, DC had to go back to the drawing board after his first pro-MMA loss. The Rochester native at first secured a striking-based finish over Cormier in their rematch, but the outcome would be overturned to a no contest. This came in the wake of their UFC 214 rematch in July 2017 when Jones failed a drug test and was stripped of the light heavyweight belt he had just regained.

Despite how heated their rivalry was at one point, Cormier nowadays does not shy away from quasi-advocating for Jones in certain situations.