Daniel Cormier has dropped his statement regarding the Michael Jordan of MMA once again. And no, it wasn’t anything about ‘Madman’, the former WXC fighter who got out with a record of 3-2-0. He indeed connected the realm of basketball with that of the cage. You see, MJ has found a legendary status with his performance on the court. When he was still active in the 1990s, there were seldom any defenders who could block Jordan’s crazy 360 and the one-handed dunks. But who is the one entity from MMA that’s on Jordan’s level of legendary? 

According to Dana White, it was none other than Anderson Silva. Weighing in on ‘Spider’s retirement in 2013, the UFC head honcho said, “It’s literally like when Jordan went away in basketball. How many games do they have a year in basketball, 80-something games? Whatever the number is, and you took it for granted every night that Jordan played right up until he left, think that’s going to be the case with Anderson Silva too.”

But Cormier had a different opinion. Back in 2020, when he talked about the MJ of MMA, he put the crown on Demetrious Johnson. Of course, he claimed that Michael Jordan’s legacy was incomparable to anyone in MMA. After all, the former Bulls star remained the undisputed GOAT for a long time. Even after decades of his retirement, people still remember him as the greatest player. During his early days, he lost the play-offs several times. But after the 1990s, he was undefeated. And ‘Mighty Mouse’ had a similar story. As Johnson went closer to his title defenses, his performance just got better. And soon, Johnson was replaced by Jon Jones. You do remember the way White portrayed ‘Bones’ as the GOAT, right? But things have certainly changed in the MMA realm. 

During the recent conversation with Cormier on the set of Good Guy/Bad Guy, Sonnen put forth a question from a fan. He wanted to know the former heavyweight champion’s opinion on the Michael Jordan of MMA, if Jon Jones is not an option. It was another golden opportunity for DC to weigh in on his rivalry with the heavyweight champion. But before we move a bit further, why don’t you drop down to the debate section and let us know your favorite DC vs Jones moment? So now, who was the fighter that got the mantle of MJ of MMA?

And if you’ve guessed it already, congratulations! It was indeed Khabib Nurmagomedov. Cormier said, “It’s gotta be Khabib. He never lost, right? Think about this. Jordan made the finals, Jordan never lost in the finals. So, if we’re talking about that, then yes. If you take everything Jones ever did, obviously, he’s in that conversation. But, it’s Khabib for me.” 

The debate about Jon Jones being the Michael Jordan of MMA was initially kick-started by Kamaru Usman. During a conversation on the Pound4Pound podcast, Usman revealed his thoughts about the similarity in Jones’ legacy and that of MJ. But DC wasn’t agreeing with that. Let’s see what he had to say about it. 

Daniel Cormier dethrones Jon Jones as the Michael Jordan of MMA 

Cormier didn’t waste a single moment to stop the hype train. He claimed, “There will be a person that comes along that people will say replaces Jon Jones as the greatest of all time. He has not left such a legacy that it doesn’t feels like it’s ever gonna be toppled.” DC pointed out that Jordan’s legacy was a bit too strong. He shed some light on LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, having some similarities with Jordan’s style and legacy. But it simply wasn’t working for Jones. 

DC continued, “Jordan left a legacy that is so strong, that we have seen LeBron James do what he do, we have seen Kobe (Bryant) do what he do, we’ve seen these great players and [people are] still unwilling to say they’re better (than Jordan). Okay, so I don’t know that I even believe my own take lol. Or or maybe someone down the line will comparable is what I meant. I mean, people do compare Lebron to Mike!”

And now, Cormier has found the replacement for Jones. Well, he does have an affiliation with Nurmagomedov and has put the Dagestani on a high pedestal. No doubt, ‘The Eagle’s undefeated status and impeccable skills were what pushed him towards greatness. But can we really compare him with Jordan? That’s the question that we direly need to discuss. 

What are your thoughts on Cormier’s take on the Michael Jordan of mixed martial arts? Do you have any other name that you’d like to put on?