UFC: Ex-champ Daniel Cormier congratulates Jon Jones for winning title

First off, thank you all for the kind words. I have felt the support. Congratulations to Jon Jones and his team. They did a phenomenal job and got the victory. Also, to Big John McCarthy, I would like to apologize for acting up with you. I am thankful for the time you gave me to try and defend myself and stay in the fight. You are the best in the business for a reason. I also wanna thank my team and my coaches. I love you all from the bottom of my heart. Your time and energy is greatly appreciated. You guys did a wonderful job, I was ready. It’s a fist fight and things happen. Dana White and the @ufc, thank you for being the premiere organization in all of MMA. Again, congrats to Team Jones and JacksonWink. Love you all. I’ll see you soon. DC 📷@layziethesavage

A post shared by Daniel “DC” Cormier (@dc_mma) on Jul 30, 2017 at 7:36pm PDT

UFC 214 over the weekend marked the end of a long rivalry between two of the promotion’s top light heavyweight fighters, Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones.

The action-packed five-round battle ended in three rounds, with Jones viciously knocking out Cormier with a head kick and a barrage of strikes, en route to reclaiming the UFC light heavyweight title.

READ: Jones regains UFC belt with brutal KO of Cormier, wants Lesnar next

A day after losing his title, the 38-year-old Cormier took to Instagram to congratulate his bitter rival for his convincing victory.

“First off, thank you all for the kind words. I have felt the support. Congratulations to Jon Jones and his team. They did a phenomenal job and got the victory,” he captioned a photo of himself.

The former Olympic wrestler also apologized to veteran MMA referee Jon McCarthy for initially protesting against his decision to halt the fight.

“Also, to Big John McCarthy, I would like to apologize for acting up with you. I am thankful for the time you gave me to try and defend myself and stay in the fight,” he wrote.

“You are the best in the business for a reason. I also wanna thank my team and my coaches. I love you all from the bottom of my heart. Your time and energy is greatly appreciated.”

McCarthy, meanwhile, accepted the apology and aired his side on Twitter.

1/2 @dc_mma U have nothing to apologize for. You have been an incredible champion who has represented the sport of MMA with class & dignity

— Big John McCarthy (@JohnMcCarthyMMA) July 31, 2017

2/2 I have watched the fight 2 many times & believe I should have stopped the fight 2 punches earlier. But I don’t get 2nd chances #AskBJM https://t.co/Qn1dQ4oP8c

— Big John McCarthy (@JohnMcCarthyMMA) July 31, 2017

Although he failed to avenge his earlier loss to Jones, Cormier pocketed a disclosed $1 million in fight purse, according to MMA Fighting.  /ra