Thanksgiving is all about gathering around the table with family, friends, and maybe even some unexpected guests. When UFC fighters were asked to pick their dream Thanksgiving dinner guest, the responses were as varied as a buffet spread. And, talking about unexpected guests, there was one who caught everyone off guard. Jon ‘Bones’ Jones named Daniel Cormier as his invitee.
Well, it would be interesting to know what prompted Jones to pick his bitter rival Cormier as a guest. Maybe he is trying to be genuinely nice and is extending an olive branch. However, did Jones take a dig at Cormier’s appetite while inviting? The jury is open on that one.
“One fighter I would invite over for a Jones family thanksgiving, I think Daniel Cormier. He seems like the kind of guy who can eat,” said the Heavyweight champion.
UFC fighters reveal who they’d invite to their #Thanksgiving dinner
Jon Jones – Daniel Cormier
Stipe Miocic – no one
Charles Jourdain – Sean Strickland
Michael Chandler – Islam Makhachev
Paul Craig – Mackenzie DernWho would you invite?
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) November 28, 2024
Some other fighters too had interesting guests. Michael Chandler said he would invite Islam Makhchev so that he could stare at him while eating turkey. Bo Nickal picked Ilia Topuria. Brendon Moreno, being the good guy that he is, picked all the staff at the UFC Performance Institute. Moreno would have easily won the best invite tag if it weren’t for Jones.
Cormier and Jones have been at each other for years now — one of UFC’s most heated feuds. Jones seems to have moved on but DC doesn’t see it that way… Understandably since Cormier will find it hard to accept how their fights ended.
The two times they got into the octagon to face each other, Jones won. But afterward, he failed drug tests too, putting himself and the sport into disrepute. Not to mention leaving Cormier miffed.
There could be a burying of the hatchet between the two at some point. But it won’t be now and most likely won’t be over turkey at Thanksgiving.
Imagine the scenario though. If the two do end up at the dinner table, and then decide to square off, it will probably be the first time that a DC and Jones fight took place without a doping scandal muddling the post-fight narrative.
DC happy with never-ending the bad blood with Jones
While Cormier acknowledges Jones as one of the sport’s greatest, their relationship remains far from friendly. During a Q&A before UFC Fight Night 246, Cormier praised Jones’ resume, saying, “He’s beaten so many champions, and the game is better with fighters like him in it.” However, he also pointed out that Jones’ frequent absences from the octagon due to personal issues do present an ugly picture of his legacy.
Even after a handshake attempt from Jones at UFC 306, Cormier brushed it off, stating, “We’re not great, and we don’t have to be. It’s OK for things to just be as they are.”
And nobody can blame DC. Jones might be praising the Lord after his wins these days, but back in the 2010s, the man was a menace, in the octagon and somehow worse on the mic!
