UFC light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has been forced to pull out of his UFC 197 main event fight with Jon Jones due to an injury.
Cormier’s withdrawal from the event was first reported by BJPenn.com Friday. Unfortunately for MMA fans, it was not a late April Fool’s Day prank.
The exact nature and severity of Cormier’s injury is unknown at this time, but it is a lower-body ailment. The 37-year-old was spotted limping while attending a wrestling tournament in California last weekend.
The UFC has yet to make an official announcement and it’s unclear whether or not Jones will remain on the card.
The former champ made it clear he wants to remain on the card.
“Hey, y’all know I’m not into taking last-minute fights — it’s not the way me and my trainers do things — but this last year has been real crazy and I think I owe my fans so much,” Jones said in an Instagram video Saturday. “So, UFC, whether you got a heavyweight, light-heavyweight it doesn’t matter. Let’s keep this main event going. Send it my way.”
Earlier in the week, the anticipated rematch appeared as if it could have been in jeopardy when Jones was arrested for violating his probation.
Cormier and Jones have a longstanding rivalry that dates back to their infamous brawl at a press conference in 2014.
Jones defeated Cormier by unanimous decision when they fought in the main event of UFC 182 last January.
Following that fight Jones (21-1) got into some legal trouble when he was involved in a hit-and-run incident in Albuquerque, N.M. The 28-year-old’s arrest resulted in the UFC stripping him of the 205-pound title last April and suspending him indefinitely. He was officially reinstated by the organization in October after reaching a plea agreement.
Cormier (17-1) won the vacant title last May at UFC 187 when he submitted Anthony Johnson. Cormier then defended the belt in a five-round classic against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 192 in October.
Johnson could be a potential replacement for Cormier should the UFC choose to keep Jones on the card. Jones and Johnson were originally scheduled to meet at UFC 187 prior to the UFC suspending Jones.
UFC 197 takes place April 23 in Las Vegas. A flyweight title bout between Demetrious Johnson and Henry Cejudo is currently slated to be the co-main event. Johnson (23-2-1) is unbeaten in the 125-pound division and the only flyweight champion the UFC has ever known. Cejudo, a 2008 Olympic gold medallist in freestyle wrestling, is 10-0 in MMA and 4-0 in the UFC.
