Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman had a hot take on Jon Jones that almost had his podcast guest Daniel Cormier walking off from the show. As it turned out, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' compared 'Bones' to the GOAT of another sport, 'His Airness' himself, Michael Jordan.
In a recent episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast with Usman and fellow former UFC champ Henry Cejudo, the former welterweight king said this:
"To be honest, Jon [Jones] is in a sense, the Michael Jordan that we've seen in MMA."
To this, Daniel Cormier said:
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"No he isn't. I'm about to leave. You done with the interview?"
Though the response from 'DC' was clearly of the sarcastic variety, you can tell that Usman struck a nerve on the former two-division champ with his assessment of Jon Jones.
ESPN MMA posted a video highlight of the conversation on Instagram:
In the comments section, current UFC welterweight champion and Usman's rival, Belal Muhammad, left a comment saying:
"Told you that podcast sucks"
Daniel Cormier on Jon Jones being compared to Michael Jordan: "It's hard to put him in that rarified air"
Responding to Usman's claim in more insightful manner, Daniel Cormier explained why he couldn't compare his former rival to the basketball GOAT. 'DC' cites the controversies outside the Octagon that has hurt Jones' legacy and therefore not comparable to MJ's.
Cormier said:
"[Jon Jones] is a guy who has done so much but because of all the other stuff, it's hard to put him in that rarified air. If Michael Jordan was doing illegal stuff, we don't know about it - I can't judge him. Georges St-Pierre, can't judge him. I know of the other stuff. So it's hard fr me to say this guy is sitting up there."
Cormier proceeded to explain that Michael Jordan has left such a strong legacy that despite retiring in 1996, people are still afraid to question his spot as the greatest to this day. Even with other legends like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant coming up after MJ's time, a significant amount of people are still adamant that 'His Airness' is the greatest to ever do it.
'DC' just doesn't see the same happening for Jon Jones' legacy.
Watch the full podcast episode and Daniel Cormier's statement here (46:17)