Jon Jones drew attention after footage emerged of him telling a fan at a recent Dirty Boxing event that he is dealing with severe arthritis and is already a candidate for hip replacement surgery. Jones later criticised the person who posted the clip, calling him an “assh*le,” but confirmed the injuries are legitimate and said the UFC is aware of his condition, though that would not necessarily prevent him from fighting again under the right circumstances.

Longtime rival Daniel Cormier, however, said he does not believe Jones was unaware he was being recorded. “The Meta glasses is a big thing right now,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel, as noted by MMA Fighting. “Rosindo Sanchez, one of my coaches, he wears Meta glasses. First off, wearing the Meta glasses, they aren’t unrecognisable. They don’t look like the general shades like glasses, you can tell something there is a little different. Jon said the kid filmed him without his knowledge. Here’s where I have a little bit of an issue with this statement. While I believe his intention may have been for him not to be recording him, it’s very easy to tell if you’re being recorded with the Meta glasses. It’s hard to hide that you’re being recorded with Meta glasses if you’re in close proximity with the person that is using the glasses.

“When you’ve been in the public eye, you build this almost sixth sense as to when people are recording you.”

Cormier also questioned why Jones would reveal such personal medical information to a fan who had asked about a potential wrestling match between the two in RAF. “I believe information like that, if it’s that close to the vest, you don’t share it with some random [person] either,” Cormier said. “I don’t know that anything he does isn’t intended to be taken in the way that it’s taken. It feels like everything he does has a purpose. I don’t believe him, and I don’t think you should. Because I don’t think he was unaware of the video.

“I think Jon Jones knew what he was doing. I think he wanted people to know that he’s injured, and I think that’s exactly the way that he wanted it to happen by giving it to an influencer. That influencer then put it on the internet and then you can feign ignorance and go ‘oh my god, I got caught.’ Not true.”

While sceptical about the circumstances of the recording, Cormier said he does believe Jones is genuinely dealing with significant physical problems and suggested the damage from years of competition may now be catching up with him. “I believe Jon Jones is hurt,” Cormier said. “I believe Jon Jones really is dealing with injuries from a long, sustained career in combat sports. Where knees and elbows and kicks were such a massive part of his game, the wrestling, sports from a young age takes a toll on the body to anyone. That was the video that made me believe that Jon Jones doesn’t have anything left in that regard.

“There will be no wrestling match between he and I. Because if that’s him in athletics, it would be too hard for him to compete in a wrestling match. His body will not hold up in the training to prepare for a wrestling match. So I think people should now start to get ready for a day when they don’t have Jones in fighting. I don’t think you’re going to have him much longer in this sport. Because I don’t think the guy’s body is going to hold up.”

Jones had recently campaigned for a place on the proposed UFC White House card in June, despite previously retiring after declining a heavyweight title fight against Tom Aspinall before reversing course when the event was announced. If he does not compete on that card, it could signal that his last appearance in the Octagon has already taken place.

Watching Jones discuss his injuries convinced Cormier that his former opponent may be coming to terms with the possibility that his career is over. “It’s a sad thing because in real time you could see him come to accept that all those days are over,” Cormier said. “I fought that dude at 36 and 38 years old and I felt great physically and mentally going into both. But if I had to fight him at 38, 39 or 40 years old, I don’t know if I would have felt the way I did.

“In real time, we’re watching him come to the acceptance that it’s over. You can see it. You can see him accepting ‘I might be done.’”