Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones share one of the most iconic (albeit one-sided) rivalries in MMA history. Though Jones emerged victorious in both their fights—one later overturned to a no-contest due to Jones failing a drug test—their animosity was as real as it was entertaining. The feud delivered some of the most unforgettable moments in the sport’s history, including Cormier’s fiery retort, “You think I’m just gonna stand there and let you kill me, Jon?” and Jones’ infamous quip, “I may look like a crackhead…”

These exchanges remain fan favorites, continuing to entertain with every rewatch. So heated was their feud that even Cormier’s retirement in 2020 couldn’t squash it. But it seems things are changing and the duo have a much more amicable relationship now. At least that is what ‘DC’ claimed on a recent episode of his ‘Good Guy/Bad Guy’ show while talking about former rivals Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker burying the hatchet to train together recently.

‘Izzy’ and ‘Reaper’, of course, have fought twice with Adesanya winning both fights. Not too long ago, Whittaker was even talking about being on a quest for a trilogy fight with his compatriot. However, on a recent appearance on Adesanya’s podcast, both men agreed that they were past it. This is in sharp contrast to Cormier and Jones’ rivalry as ‘DC’ admitted.

“Listen, it’s tempered- Jones and I. It’s not what it used to be. I mean we can honestly be in the same area with each other now and be cordial. It’s not what it used to be before. We would just fight everywhere, whether we were in a bar, a club, no matter where we were, we were trying to fight each other,” he said.

In fact, Daniel Cormier admitted that he found all the drama pret entertaining himself. “And that was, I gotta be honest, that was fun, right? That was like really fun. But I don’t need that fuzzy feeling,” ‘DC’ admitted. The former dual champ went on to give the example of another famous combat sports rivalry to explain why he didn’t mind Whittaker and Adesanya mending fences.

“Like I don’t hate that Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield squashed their beef and they’re like laughing and joking. But if Evander never forgave him for biting his ear off I wouldn’t had a problem with it, because sometimes rivalries need to live. I don’t know that those guys had that type of rivalry,” he added. Since the rivalry between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson goes back more than three decades, let us remind ourselves about what happened between them.

Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield’s short-lived rivalry

Mike Tyson famously bit off Evander Holyfield’s ear in their second bout back in 1997. ‘Iron Mike’ lost their first fight back in 1996. But his team alleged that Holyfield had illegally head-butted Tyson many times during the fight. The referee saw things differently and ruled the head-butts were accidental, but Tyson was infuriated.

In their second fight, tired of allegedly being head-butted by Holyfield and the referee taking no action, ‘Iron Mike’ took matters into his hands, or rather, his mouth. Well, by biting part of Holyfield’s ear clean off. Of course, the fight was stopped immediately and Tyson was disqualified, but it seems the duo didn’t hold any ill-will for each other over the incident.

In fact, Tyson would recall running into Holyfield in an elevator a week after their second fight. He asked him “We all good?” To which the former cruiserweight champion agreed, squashing their beef then and there. Since then the boxing titans have seen amicable conversations, and Holyfield even went on Tyson’s podcast a few years ago.

Cormier feels that the Whittaker-Adesanya rivalry is more akin to the Tyson-Holyfield one than his beef with Jones. And that is precisely why he is okay with ‘Izzy’ and ‘Reaper’s newfound love and respect for each other. What do you think about Daniel Cormier’s take on his rivalry with Jones and the other rivalries?