UFC light heavyweight Daniel Cormier doesn’t see much in champ Jon Jones’ recent antics other than a young man grappling with the spotlight.

“I think a lot of stuff just shows his age,” Cormier (14-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC), 35, who next week fights Dan Henderson (30-11 MMA, 7-5 UFC) at UFC 173, told MMAjunkie. “He’s a younger guy, and whether or not people want to believe it, he’s younger, and all this takes some adjusting. He’s not the oldest guy, and he’s dealing with fame at a level that most people can’t comprehend.”

The 26-year-old champ continues to court controversy nearly one month after his seventh title defense at UFC 172. After UFC President Dana White defended Jones’ performance, former champ Bas Rutten called him a dirty fighter for the techniques he used against challenger Glover Teixeira at this past month’s pay-per-view event.

But for some, the most cringe-worthy behavior came right after the fight, when Jones mocked would-be opponent Phil Davis, UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell, and fans who accused him of bending the rules.

Jones (20-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC), who next fights Alexander Gustafsson (16-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC), deleted the latter attack, which came in the form of a video “selfie” posted on his Instagram account – the same account he claimed was hacked prior to UFC 172 when a rogue social media helper used homophobic language toward a fan.

The move suggested that the often image-conscious Jones wasn’t entirely comfortable with the image he’d portrayed to the public, or he’d perhaps been asked to take the message down. Whatever the young champ’s motivation, Cormier, who is no stranger to MMA punditry as a UFC commentator on FOX, thinks there’s an opportunity that’s being missed.

“If I was Jon Jones, being that people seem to want to dislike him, I would go 100 percent Floyd Mayweather Jr.,” he said. “He wins all the time, and people dislike him, but they always tune into see him.”

Indeed, the boxing champ’s brash confidence is one of his most attractive qualities, both as a promoter and as an athlete. Mayweather posts Instagram pictures of himself in front of a Ferrari dealer and dismisses his haters as fans of another type – a distinction Cormier thinks Jones might use.

“People want to believe Jon’s not being 100 percent real with us,” he said. “They’re thinking that we’re seeing kind of an act, so give them you. If they believe you’re a complete ass, then just be an ass.”

Of course, Jones probably won’t share that opinion of himself. The champ often has spoken about being a role model for the sport and breaking down barriers to its acceptance in the mainstream. Behaving like a cocky know-it-all probably won’t help him get there, and it might not jibe with his mainstream sponsor, Nike.

Then again, one wonders whether frequent social media flareups and subsequent explanations haven’t already damaged his brand.

Cormier, who unsuccessfully lobbied to fight Jones this past year, ultimately sees an openly superior-acting champ as a business strategy, one aimed at the most important metric in just about every business.

“They’ll watch to hope that you lose, but at the end of the day, you’ll still be winning, because Floyd Mayweather makes $40 million every time he fights,” he said. “At the end of the day, that is winning.”

For the latest on UFC 173, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Jon Jones)