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The last time Daniel Cormier saw Jon "Bones" Jones in the Octagon, he lost.

Cormier and Jones met at UFC 182 in January with the light heavyweight championship on the line. A lot has happened since then.

Jones has since been suspended and reinstated for his role in a hit-and-run accident last spring. In between, Cormier won the belt on an interim basis, Jones was officially stripped of the belt, and Cormier defended it. He won impressive fights with the class of the division versus Antony "Rumble" Johnson and Alexander Gustafsson.

But Cormier has maintained all along that he needs Cormier -- both as a friend and a fighter. So it came as no surprise when Cormier declared his wish for his next title defense on Wednesday.

"I'm the champion now and I want to fight him," Cormier said on "UFC Tonight" on Wednesday. "I am willing to give him a title shot immediately back into the UFC. It's great for the fans, great for the organization because he is pound for pound the best fighter in the world.

"We should be fighting. He's beaten everybody else -- well he beat me, too. I said from the moment we walked out of the Octagon on Jan. 3, I would like to rematch Jon Jones. The circumstances have changed things now. Now it's flipped: I'm the champion, he's the challenger. But I think once they lock us back inside the Octagon, we'll make for some good business, we'll make for some fireworks.

"I cannot wait to fight this guy again."

Thumbnail photo via Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports Images