Jones was suspended and stripped of his title by the UFC after his involvement in a hit-and-run incident in Albuquerque, and Cormier wound up taking his place at UFC 187, where he faced Anthony Johnson for the now-vacant belt.
Cormier survived an onslaught by Johnson in the opening round and went on to win by submission in the third when he forced "Rumble" to tap to a rear-naked choke.
After his win, Cormier sent a short but blunt statement to Jones: "Jon Jones, get your sh*t together, I'm waiting for you!"
"It's unfortunate, but I believe he'll get his stuff together, and him and I will fight again," Cormier said in the post-fight press conference, as quoted by MMA Fighting.
"I said, I'm the kid at the wrestling tournament who's always in your bracket. It's not just one tournament. It's over the course of the year," he added.
Jones had already beaten Cormier when they first fought in January, which the new champion compared to being defeated "at a dual meet at a regional tournament."
"But there's still a state tournament and a national tournament. So there's plenty of times for him and I to compete against each other," he added.
At the same time, Cormier made it clear that although he did not beat Jones, his claim on the light-heavyweight belt is still legitimate.
"You see what's sitting right there? That's a gold belt," Cormier said. "That thing's reserved for the UFC champion."
"I didn't disqualify myself from competition. Jon did. Jon's the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world. We all know that," he added.
"But he disqualified himself from this competition right now, so I am the champion. I'm very proud of what I accomplished tonight," he stressed.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
