Rivals Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones will never be friends but both admit mutual respect

Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones have a rivalry that has created amazing fights, press conferences, and interviews.

Both men will always be connected to one another on some way, form, or fashion.

Their heated rivalry has provided epic moments in the UFC including their brawl at the MGM Grand lobby, numerous exchanges, and fights reportedly selling more than 1.6 million pay-per-views.

In a recent interview on Steve-O’s podcast, Jones gave his thoughts on Daniel Cormier and their rivalry.

“I respect D.C.,” Jones said. “I think he’s an outstanding man. I think he represents himself very well. I think he represents African-Americans very well. He represents the UFC very well. Being a father, being an athlete, he’s very well spoken, he’s a great commentator.”

Daniel will never consider Jones his friend but he does respect the champion.

“The reality is when you’re in the octagon — this guy I was in the octagon with over 40 minutes — if you can’t respect a person in that capacity when you’re done with them, then who can you respect?” Cormier told MMA Fighting. “I do respect Jones in terms of what he does as an athlete, what he’s been able to do and all those things.

“The reality is like you said, it doesn’t have to be a friendship and it won’t be.”

“I do respect him as a competitor. I never said I didn’t,” Cormier said. “That’s where it gets all confused when they talk about this thing between him and I. I never not respected him as a competitor. It was all the other stuff I had a problem with.

“I never did that. If you’re an honest guy, which I try to think I am, you tell the truth. You can respect a person for their skills. I do respect those skills.”