UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has been unforgiving towards Jon Jones’ substance use issues. From calling the former champion “Cialis boy”, to ripping on him for supposedly “doing steroids, snorting cocaine and sandblasting prostitutes”, Cormier seems unwilling to let up with the tirades.
“These things are so public,” Cormier said (via MMAJunkie). “These instances are so public. If he was doing all this stuff to himself and by himself and not affecting people, I probably wouldn’t say anything. But his indiscretions and mess-ups have greatly influenced my career, too, in the way I’m perceived. A lot of people may say, ‘Well, you would never be the champion if he didn’t do those things.’ Maybe he would’ve beat me again, but we would’ve fought already to decide that.”
For many, drug addiction should be treated as a disease, rather than a crime. Cormier, on the other hand, believes it is all about the choices one makes.
“And my whole thing is this. Some guy said this to me: ‘Daniel, if you knew the struggle, you would never say the things you say.’ And I said, ‘Well, I don’t know the struggle, because I know how dangerous it is. So I don’t mess with it.’
“You’re not born with addiction issues. You make the choice to start to mess with that.”
“If you’re willing to do that right before a fight, and that’s something that can be detrimental to you going forward, why wouldn’t you do something that could help you? That’s my philosophy. I could be wrong. I do believe that this dude has been cheating his entire life, though. Why not?”
Cormier and Jones will finally get to settle the score in a long-awaited rematch slated for UFC 214 on July 29th in Anaheim, California.
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