Daniel Cormier Suffered Knee Injury Before UFC 173, Still Whooped Dan Henderson’s Ass


(Props: Getty via UFC Instagram)

As if Daniel Cormier‘s total domination of Dan Henderson at UFC 173 wasn’t impressive enough, it turns out that DC managed to do it all on a bum knee. As Ariel Helwani reported on yesterday’s edition of UFC Tonight, Cormier injured his lateral collateral ligament (LCL) just ten days before his fight against Henderson, and briefly feared that he’d have to pull out. Instead, he soldiered on and the rest is history.

Cormier will have his knee assessed in the next few weeks, and may decide to have surgery to fix an existing problem with his ACL. While that plan would put him out of action for the rest of 2014, he had already planned to wait for a title shot against the winner of Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson, which is tentatively scheduled for August 30th. In other words, the timing could be ideal — unless Gustafsson wins in a controversial split-decision and the UFC decides to do an immediate rubber-match. As Dana White recently pointed out, waiting for your title shot rarely works out the way you want it to.

Cormier also busted a tooth while slamming Hendo to the mat during their fight, and had to get it pulled on Monday.


(Props: Getty via UFC Instagram)

As if Daniel Cormier‘s total domination of Dan Henderson at UFC 173 wasn’t impressive enough, it turns out that DC managed to do it all on a bum knee. As Ariel Helwani reported on yesterday’s edition of UFC Tonight, Cormier injured his lateral collateral ligament (LCL) just ten days before his fight against Henderson, and briefly feared that he’d have to pull out. Instead, he soldiered on and the rest is history.

Cormier will have his knee assessed in the next few weeks, and may decide to have surgery to fix an existing problem with his ACL. While that plan would put him out of action for the rest of 2014, he had already planned to wait for a title shot against the winner of Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson, which is tentatively scheduled for August 30th. In other words, the timing could be ideal — unless Gustafsson wins in a controversial split-decision and the UFC decides to do an immediate rubber-match. As Dana White recently pointed out, waiting for your title shot rarely works out the way you want it to.

Cormier also busted a tooth while slamming Hendo to the mat during their fight, and had to get it pulled on Monday.