Jon Jones made the headlines in the UFC 214 after he faced a rematch against Daniel Cormier at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
Jones defeated Cormier in the third round via KO and sent a message,"I am back." Entering the octagon ring after 30 months, he won the UFC light heavyweight championship once again with a victory in 3:01 in the third round.
DC catches Jones here towards the end of the round!! #UFC214 pic.twitter.com/LY2rEcxifc
— UFC (@ufc) July 30, 2017
Jones was out of the UFC for about 2 and a half years following the drug suspension and legal issues. Cormier was holding the division title in the absence of Jones but with the recent victory, Jones has reclaimed his title. After the match, Jones said:
"I made it back man, such a beautiful moment. I did a lot of right things to get back in this position. Anybody at home who let themselves down, let their family down, let their co-workers down -- it's never over. As long as you never quit, it's never over. Oh yes!"
Having the first two rounds on his side, Cormier was doing so well but, Jones kick reached his head following the elbow and knee before the referee ended the game.
Sadly Cormier's defeat against Jones in not the first time as he lost against him at UFC 182 in January 2015. Jones went emotional after the game. He said:
"I thought the fight was going well. I don’t even know what happened. They say I got kicked in the head? Oh man, that's so disappointing. I guess if he wins both fights there is no rivalry so I don't know."
Sucks to see D.C. Like this. Jon Jones acted like a true champ on that mic.
— Chris Weidman (@ChrisWeidmanUFC) July 30, 2017
However, Jones praised his opponent Cormier and thanked him for being his greatest rival. He told:
"It is over. I want to take this time to thank Daniel Cormier for being my biggest rival and motivator. Daniel Cormier, guys, he has absolutely no reason to hang his head. He has been a model champion, a model husband, a model father, teammate and leader. And I aspire to be a lot more like that man because he's an amazing human being. Unfortunately, we are opponents but he is a true champion for the rest of his life."
The unexpected moment came after the match when Jones took a mic from Cormier and called out Lesner to face him. Despite being a light heavyweight, he challenged a former Heavyweight champion and said:
"Lesnar. If you want to find out what it’s like to get your ass kicked by a guy who weight 40 lbs less than you, meet me here."
The WWE star in return responded saying "be careful what you wish for, young man".
Brock Lesnar responds to Jon Jones in an interview with @gregbeacham — "Be careful what you wish for, young man" #UFC214
— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) July 30, 2017
UFC 214 Earnings
Despite losing the fight against Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier was the highest winning athlete in UFC 214. He received around $1 million payout for the match. Jones took $500 thousand same as Welterweight champ Tyron Woodley who defeated Demian Maia. UFC paid around $3,646,000, the total payroll of the event.
UFC 214 payday Full list:
Jon Jones: 500 thousand
Daniel Cormier: 1 million
Tyron Woodley: $500 thousand
Demian Maia: $110 thousand
Robbie Lawler: $300 thousand (including 100 thousand win bonus)
Donald Cerrone: $155 thousand
Cristiane Justino: $200 thousand
Tonya Evinger: $100 thousand
Volkan Oezdemir: $110 thousand ( 3o thousand win bonus)
Jimi Manuwa: $120 thousand
Ricardo Lamas: $106 ( win bonus $53 thousand)
Jason Knight: $31 thousand
Aljamain Sterling: $66 thousand ( 33 thousand win bonus)
Renan Barao: $53 thousand
Brian Ortega: $52 thousand ( 26 thousand win bonus)
Ricardo Moicano: $23 thousand
Drew Dober: $44 thousand (22 thousand win bonus)
Josh Burkman: $54 thousand
Calvin Kattar: $24 thousand (12 thousand win bonus)
Andre Fili: $24 thousand
Alexandra Albu: $20 thousand ( 10 thousand win bonus)
Kailin Curran: $20 thousand
The amount is exclusive of sponsor amount, insurance, license, and taxes.
Don't miss to read: Is Daniel Cormier Still Up For A Super Fight With Brock Lesnar, After Miocic Fight?