Daniel Cormier opts to undergo knee surgery after competing in final wrestling match

With Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson 2 now set in stone, the UFC light heavyweight division’s other top contender, Daniel Cormier, has elected to undergo surgery to repair a torn LCL and partially damaged ACL in his right knee, MMAFightin…

With Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson 2 now set in stone, the UFC light heavyweight division’s other top contender, Daniel Cormier, has elected to undergo surgery to repair a torn LCL and partially damaged ACL in his right knee, MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani reported on Wednesday’s edition of UFC Tonight.

Cormier (15-0) suffered a significant tear in his LCL (lateral collateral ligament) approximately 10 days out from his UFC 173 clash against Dan Henderson, while a recent MRI revealed that only 50-percent of the 35-year-old former Olympian’s ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) remains intact in his right knee due to years of accumulated wear and tear.

He expects to undergo surgery in San Jose, CA on the first week of July, but only after competing against former two-time NCAA champion Chris Pendleton in an exhibition wrestling match at the UFC Fan Expo in Las Vegas, NV on Saturday, July 5, 2014.

Cormier told Helwani that the match will serve as the last wrestling match of his career, as he wanted to exit his original sport differently than he had before, when he suffered kidney failure as the captain of the 2008 U.S. men’s Olympic team and subsequently was unable to compete in the Beijing summer games.

Cormier, the likely recipient of the light heavyweight division’s next title shot, is expected to be sidelined for several months while Jones and Gustafsson both prepare for their anticipated rematch on September 27.

While still a relative newcomer to mixed martial arts, Cormier has yet to unanimously lose a single round in professional competition and carries wins over top-10 ranked heavyweights Josh Barnett, Frank Mir, Roy Nelson, and Antonio Silva, as well as a dominant victory over top-10 light heavyweight Henderson.