When the news broke on April Fool’s Day that Daniel Cormier had pulled out of the UFC 197 rematch against Jon Jones scheduled for later this month, many fans had hoped it was only a joke. Unfortunately for D.C, the situation is all too real.
Cormier took to his official Instagram page on Saturday to explain his decision to pull out of the scheduled UFC 197 main event:
“The decision to not fight on April 23rd was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make. I’ve been scheduled to fight 18 times and I have made that walk every time. I want to apologize to Jon Jones, Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White and all of the UFC fans for not being able to defend my title. This truly saddens me, but as with everything else in life, it goes on. The recovery should not take very long and I can’t wait to compete and defend my title again. For all the fans, thanks for your support, I appreciate each and every one of you. DC”
As reported earlier this weekend, Jones issued an open challenge to all light heavyweights and heavyweights to keep the UFC 197 main event allive. In the end, UFC decided on a Jones vs. Ovince St. Preux fight for the interim 205-pound UFC title, which will now serve as the new UFC 197 main event.
UFC 197: Jones vs. St. Preux is scheduled for Saturday, April 23, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Make sure to join us here at MMANews.com on 4/23 for the best UFC 197 live results coverage on the web!