Now, Cormier is insistent that had the Russian switched to MMA, he would’ve taken over the sport. In an interview on The Joe Rogan Experience, he explained: “There was one guy that beat me in the Olympics semi-finals, his name was Khadzhimurat Gatsalov. We’re lucky that son of a b—- didn’t fight, because he would’ve beaten everybody and Jon Jones included. “He beat me, he beat me, Cael Sanderson, Kyle Snyder, this dude was so fast. “I brought him in to train with me for Jon Jones. My strength coach told me that he tried to break him; [he said] ‘No matter what I did, he never stopped, he never got tired, and he always wanted to do more’. That’s why the dude is a 6x world champion. “He was the best. We’re just lucky he didn’t fight because all of us wouldn’t have any accomplishments.” Daniel Cormier opens up about heart-wrenching message Jon Jones sent him Of course, Cormier’s comments come as no major surprise. After all, he’s constantly firing shots at Jones. However, while the pair famously don’t get on, there have been occasions where they’ve put their rivalry to one side. When times have been tough, they’ve reached out to support one another. During an interview, Cormier opened up about the emotional message Jones sent to him.