The day after Thanksgiving, the MMA world is still digesting the unfortunate news that light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has been forced out of December 10’s UFC 206 main event against Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson.
It’s the second such withdrawal in three scheduled bouts for ‘DC,’ as he pulled out of his awaited rematch with archrival Jon Jones in the main event of UFC 197 this past April, and ‘Bones” removal of the re-scheduled bout at UFC 200 due to a failed USADA test certainly didn’t help matters.
Cormier famously beat ‘Rumble’ by submission at 2015’s UFC 187 after Jones was unceremoniously removed from his bout with Johnson following a concerning hit-and-run accident involving a pregnant woman in his adopted home of Albuquerque, New Mexico. That lead to a mess at the top of the shallow UFC 205-pound division, and no one is quite sure where it will head.
However, Cormier and Johnson aren’t going to rip into each other like he and Jones did; in fact the opposite is true. That was made evident by the champ’s public apology to ‘Rumble’ on Twitter directly after the news broke today:
@Anthony_Rumble I left a message for you on ur phone. I apologize. We Will get to rock and roll bruh. Once again my apologies. DC
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) November 25, 2016
Johnson will similarly even-keeled in his own response to the mess, noting that worrying about his latest lost title fight would do absolutely nothing before wishing ‘DC’ nothing but the best in his recovery:
Worrying does not take away tomorrow's troubles, it takes away today's peace.
— Anthony Johnson (@Anthony_Rumble) November 25, 2016
I wish nothing but the best for DC and I hope you have a full recovery champ…
— Anthony Johnson (@Anthony_Rumble) November 25, 2016
The UFC is reportedly looking for a short-notice replacement to fight ‘Rumble,’ but that may be a tall order to find someone willing a competitor most consider to be the hardest hitter in all of MMA.
Set for December 10 from Toronto, UFC 206 is quickly falling apart after losing the Rashad Evans vs. Tim Kennedy bout earlier this week. It promises to be a tough sell on pay-per-view (PPV) in the middle of a Holiday season where the UFC is already asking fans for a ton of their time and hard-earned cash, so stay tuned for any new updates as they arise.
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