The countdown clock on UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier’s career has begun.
Cormier has already stated that he has 14 months until he hangs up his gloves and ends his pro-MMA career. It’s clear that he doesn’t want to waste much time before getting back into the Octagon.
As seen in the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC 220 PPV event at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, Cormier was able to score a TKO victory over title contender Volkan Oezdemir.
Despite the fact that Cormier suffered ligament damage to his wrist and a minor thumb fracture during the fight, he’d like to forgo surgery. Thus, he plans on heal naturally before returning to the Octagon this summer.
“I don’t like to do surgery, so I’m going to try to put off the surgery, and we’ll see in a couple weeks,” Cormier told MMAjunkie. “If it’s starting to heal, I’m not going to do the surgery. I’m going to do (platelet-rich plasma therapy) again.”
By looking at the UFC’s pay-per-view schedule, this year’s International Fight Week will feature UFC 226, which takes place July 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. This is a time of year that Cormier has historically fought during and could be perfect for his return.
“A more realistic timeframe for another fight would be in the summer,” he said. “Maybe July – International Fight Week, somewhere in that time frame. That would give me time to rest and recover from the fight. Just a long, hard year, and I’m going to have time for my injuries to heal. That would give me time to fight again maybe at the end of the year.”
“If I could fight at the end of the year, and maybe sneak another one in in February, I could get three more in before I’m done,” Cormier said.
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