By Elias Cepeda

*The views expressed in this piece are the writer's and do not necessarily reflect the views of FloCombat as a whole*
 
As much as it pains me to do so today, let's skip past the important discussion of USADA's fundamental illegitimacy as any kind of drug testing and disciplinary body. 

Put plainly, USADA doesn't regulate the UFC -- it works for and at the pleasure of the promotion. It has already been demonstrated that USADA's rules about drug testing UFC fighters only apply when the UFC allows them to be enforced. In just one example, Brock Lesnar avoided months of supposedly mandatory drug testing when he returned to MMA competition in 2016 because the UFC unilaterally waived it

All of that isn't what this column is about, though.
 
Instead, what I'd like to examine is Daniel Cormier and his legacy in MMA. 

For the sake of this discussion, I'll move past a scrutinization of the UFC and USADA's problematic relationship and rhetorically accept Jon Jones' most recent PED test-flagging at face value. Jones failed USADA's PED testing before winning his recent rematch against Cormier. The state of California (where the fight took place) then decided to turn the resulting win over Cormier because of the banned steroids allegedly in Jones' system during the fight. 

Now, the UFC has given back Cormier his symbolic title of light heavyweight.


Photo Credit: © Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports 
 
In my mind, each measure taken in the post-fight fallout has logically followed the other so far. That is why I've been surprised to read and hear no small amount of rancor around Cormier being restored as UFC light heavyweight champ.
 
Cormier was the champion heading into his rematch with Jones. Then, Cormier lost and the title went over to Jones.
 
Except, now that result has been reversed. If we're fine with accepting the intertwining of USADA, the UFC, and state athletic commissions (actual regulators) and banning certain performance-enhancing drugs -- like the kinds that Jones has repeatedly allegedly been found to have in his system -- then overturning Jones' most recent win is clearly correct.
 
If you're a reader who maintains that Jones deserves to still magically be considered light heavyweight champion because he won a decision over Cormier in 2015, then go on thinking that. I'm not interested in fixing the focus of eyes glazed over with hero worship and arguing with those who refuse to consider Jones' extended absences from competition and multiple PED drug-test failures.


Photo Credit: © Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports 

Cormier is the light heavyweight champion of the world. That's simple math and basic history, not the starting point of substantive debate.
 
Weighing the legacy of Cormier's MMA career thus far, on the other hand, is a perfectly fine mental exercise.
 
Though Jon Jones has gotten the better of Daniel Cormier in their head-to-head competition, I argue that comprehensive measurement of the two men's MMA legacies reveals separation of mere centimeters. Frankly, calling a clear winner in the battle of legacy between Jones and Cormier is tough.  
 
Head-to-head comparisons between relative contemporaries is a fairly simple thing to do in fighting. Make the fight, then see what happens.
 
Comparing legacies of fighters, however, has to do with much more than head-to-head matchups.
 
Legacy is more than about individual fights (if it were that simple, then Joey Maxim's legacy should be considered greater than Floyd Patterson's), though they can and certainly should factor into the discussion. Legacy is about overall accomplishment, and comparative analysis of legacies is a much more imprecise, subjective, and ultimately impossible goal to hit on the mark with assurance.
 
Still, it is impossible to look at Cormier's MMA career and come to an objective conclusion that his legacy so far is beneath Jones' in any way.
 
Before we look at Cormier's light heavyweight campaign, we'd be remiss not to remind everyone that he only began it after storming through the heavyweight ranks to become the No. 1 title contender. The only apparent reason that Cormier decided to end his reign of dominance at heavyweight -- a class in which Jones has yet to challenge himself despite years of saying he wanted to -- was because his friend and teammate Cain Velasquez was and is still at the top of the division, vying back and forth for gold.
 
At light heavyweight, of course, Jones has beaten Cormier. To review, he's beaten him just once, now.


Photo Credit: © Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports 

However we may feel about allowing a fighter's victory to stand after failing a drug screening, Jones is 1-0 against Cormier, officially. Whatever unofficial record Jones or his fans may hold dear to their hearts, tests have shown that "Bones" had banned drugs in his system -- from cocaine to PEDs -- while preparing to fight and while actually fighting Cormier more times than he's even competed against the former Olympian.
 
That doesn't give Cormier a win over Jones, but it certainly impacts Jones' legacy negatively. Arguing that you like Jones in a head-to-head matchup over Cormier, who is nearly a decade older, is fine.
 
One certainly has empirical evidence to support that stance. Jones deserves that credit and respect.
 
Other than losing a decision to Jones, on the other hand, Cormier's record in MMA is sterling. More than that, he's achieved significant things that Jones has not accomplished.
 
Here are three:
 
1. Cormier beat Alexander Gustafsson in more convincing fashion than Jones did in his controversial 2013 win.
 
The Swede is the caliber of fighter who would likely have already been a champion if Cormier was never born. Or, if he hadn't gotten a bit railroaded by judges after busting Jones up.
 
2. Cormier beat Anthony Johnson. Twice.
 
Jones avoided facing off against perhaps the most dangerous threat to his title run by virtue of taking himself out of the game with criminal activity and drug-use suspensions. Meanwhile, Cormier not only faced and beat Anthony Johnson twice but also stopped the prime-form knockout machine both times.
 
Johnson knocked out Gustafsson -- who arguably beat Jones -- with a quicknes, and nearly stopped Cormier as well, before succumbing to the gutsy underdog turned king on two separate occasions.
 
3. Cormier fought and won consistently against top contenders while heading into his 40s, while Jones avoided such action with extended absences in his prime.


Photo credit: © Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports 

Perhaps Jones would have beaten Gustafsson more convincingly if he'd fought him a second time. However, he sure didn't seem in a rush for that rematch, putting off the challenger, the promotion, and fans in order to instead fight others.
 
Perhaps Jones would have also been able to beat the scariest challenger the 205-pound class has ever seen -- Anthony Johnson -- if he ever fought him. To date, however, Jones has not.
 
Just as Cormier can't get credit for beating a man he has yet to triumph over, Jones can't get credit for facing men he never did or for winning as convincingly as Cormier did against common opponents.
 
If we were to allow that type of fanciful credit-giving, however, we'd have to apply the hypothetical lens to Cormier and his skills as well. Jones has a long list of  aging legends he has conquered on his resume, and he deserves credit for either forcing men such as Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, and Lyoto Machida out of their primes or being among the first to reveal that fact.
 
Jones was too good for all of those men and more, but there's little doubt that Cormier would have also beaten them were he not fighting and dominating giants at heavyweight.
 
In the end, legacy is always a blurry picture. When comparing those of all-time greats like Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones we're forced to split hairs.
 
I'd be happy to allow each and every person's body of work and life accomplishments to rest on their own in peace. When someone's work goes grossly underappreciated in their own time, however, I'm compelled to intercede in my small way.
 
Cormier doesn't appear to be getting the credit he deserves for his remarkable and historic MMA career, so far. That needs to change.
 
He and Jones are clearly the two most efficacious fighters ever seen in the light heavyweight ranks. We've gotten head-to-head looks from them, and each man has done things the other has not.
 
Jones vs. Cormier is a great rivalry, and all fans should feel free to come down on one side or the other in it. As we do, however, we should realize that there simply is no blowout on either side when it comes to legacy.