Daniel Cormier Asks Fans to Show Jon Jones ‘Compassion’
Daniel Cormier would probably be the last person you’d suspect asking fans to lay off Jon Jones, but that’s exactly what he’s doing.
In a lengthy Instagram post on Friday, Cormier addressed the recent news that Jones tested positive for the steroid Turinabol, had his win at UFC 214 overturned and then had his light heavyweight title stripped all within a matter of days.
Of course Cormier is always going to be connected to the Jones’ story considering he fell to the former champion by knockout in July before the result was overturned as a result of the positive drug test.
While Cormier has spent the better part of the past four years embroiled in a nasty rivalry with Jones, he’s actually hoping that fans can give the former champion some empathy during a very dark period in his career.
“Life can be such a roller coaster. I think sometimes you have to just take a moment and breathe it in. You never know what’s gonna come your way,” Cormier wrote. “You try and handle it the best way you can. One thing that has been amazing is the support from you the fans. I have never felt so much love. It’s crazy because this all happened when I lost.
“Guys now I call upon you to take a breath, lay off of Jones. Let him and his team figure out what’s going on and what happened. I was down and some may have kicked me but the majority of you showed compassion and love. After the fight Jones showed compassion, regardless of what has happened as humans we must show compassion. Jon is not on this ride alone, remember this man has a family. Let’s respect that. You don’t show your support for me by hurting others. Again I thank you for your unbelievable support and I trust that you guys will come through again.”
This isn’t the first time Cormier has made a similar statement regarding Jones’ fate while he awaits the opportunity to defend himself against the allegations of performance enhancing drug us.
Cormier has stayed very classy in his responses towards Jones much like the former champion did in his post fight comments when speaking about his longtime rival following UFC 214.
While Jones has seemingly been tried already in the court of public opinion, he still has the opportunity to defend himself against the allegations when appearing in front of the California State Athletic Commission and USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency).
Jones’ team has already claimed that he was the victim of a tainted supplement, but regardless he faces a potential four-year suspension as a repeat offender in the UFC’s anti-doping program after testing positive for two different banned substances in 2016.
