There’s only a single fight that can lure Daniel Cormier back to 205 pounds.
Former champion Jon Jones’ issues outside the Octagon have put the UFC’s light heavyweight division through the ringer for the past several years. The issues started back in 2015 when Jones was arrested for a hit-and-run incident that injured a pregnant woman. Jones was subsequently stripped of his then-held light heavyweight title.
At the time, “Bones” was preparing to defend the 205-pound strap against renowned knockout artist Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. Due to Jones’ stripping and indefinite suspension, Jones was removed from that contest. Instead, Cormier, the man Jones had previously defeated just four months prior, stepped in. Jones handed Cormier the first loss of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career at UFC 182 that January.
With Jones removed from his fight against Johnson, that left “DC” and “Rumble” to go one-on-one for the vacant strap. Cormier would win the title via third-round submission. After a successful title defense against Alexander Gustafsson, Cormier was set to make his next title defense against Jones. The bitter rivals were slated to headline UFC 200, one of the biggest cards in UFC history. Unfortunately, Jones tested positive for a banned substance from a pre-fight United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) test.
Jones was again removed from the fight, and Cormier faced Anderson Silva in a non-title fight, which he won via unanimous decision. Following another victory over Anthony Johnson, Cormier found himself signed for yet another fight against Jones, still itching to avenge the sole loss on his record.
Although Jones made it to fight night, controversy still plagued the event. Jones defeated Cormier via third-round head-kick knockout, seemingly ending the rivalry with “DC” and calling out Brock Lesnar for a superfight. However, just days later, it was revealed Jones had once again failed a USADA pre-fight drug test.
Jones’ Loss Was Cormier’s Gain
As a result, he was stripped of his title and the strap was returned to Cormier. “DC” made yet another successful title defense in the meantime against Volkan Oezdemir. He then jumped up to heavyweight and became the UFC’s second-ever “champ champ” by knocking out Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight throne. Now, Cormier finds himself ready to defend the heavyweight title against Derrick Lewis, while Jones gears up for his return from suspension.
In an interesting twist, Jones will actually be rematching Alexander Gustafsson, the man who has come closer than anybody to besting Jones inside the Octagon. When Jones and Gustafsson headline UFC 232 on December 29th in Las Vegas, the light heavyweight championship will be on the line. Upon the fight’s start, Cormier will be stripped of the 205-pound title.
Cormier is ready to retire from MMA competition soon, and after his fight with Lewis, he says he only has one left in him. That will likely be against Brock Lesnar. However, Cormier still wishes to avenge his loss to Jones if the opportunity ever arises. As he told “Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show” earlier today (Mon. October 29, 2018), the only fight that would motivate Cormier to drop back down to 205 pounds would be Jones.
Despite an impressive showing from rising contender Anthony Smith over the weekend in Moncton, it doesn’t look like Cormier has any aspirations of competing at light heavyweight against the rising stars of the division. Instead, he’s happy to retire a heavyweight, unless a grudge match with Jones is on the table.
The UFC is most certainly interested in making that fight. Will Cormier stick around for it?
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