For the first time in 18 months, come April, Daniel Cormier will defend his UFC light heavyweight title.
Cormier has been booked in to headline UFC 210 in Buffalo, New York. His opponent will be No.1 contender Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson.
The bout was originally slated for UFC 206 but Cormier was forced to pull out with a groin injury. He was due to fight Jon Jones twice last year but he sustained a knee injury last February before ‘Bones’ was flagged for an anti-doping violation.
Cormier last defended his title in October 2015 but, all going well, the strap is up for grabs in Buffalo. The news was broken on UFC Tonight, which Cormier co-hosts.
Daniel Cormier announces that he's defending his belt against Anthony Johnson at UFC 210 in Buffalo! #UFCTonight
— UFC Tonight (@UFCTonight) January 26, 2017
BREAKING: @DC_MMA vs @Anthony_Rumble 2 headlines #UFC210 in Buffalo!!
Pre-register ➡️ https://t.co/VsqiWxgnLn pic.twitter.com/XbDeD4tiBe
— UFC (@ufc) January 26, 2017
Cormier explained that he wanted to fight at the Buffalo event as it was the closest pay-per-view show to Toronto, where UFC 206 was held. This will give many fight fans that live in the Toronto area [some 100 miles away] an opportunity to see the title fight.
The champion won his belt [vacated by the suspended Jones] back in May 2015 when he defeated ‘Rumble’ by rear naked choke. His last victory was a non-title bout against Anderson Silva at UFC 200.
Cormier defeated Johnson at UFC 187 in May 2015 to become the light-heavyweight champion after then-champion Jon Jones was stripped of the title due to legal issues stemming from a hit-and-run accident.
Chris Weidman’s middleweight bout with fifth ranked Gegard Mousasi is also on the UFC 210 card. This will be the first event for the promotion since UFC 7 in 1995.
