Daniel Cormier"The decision to not fight on April 23rd was one of the hardest decisions I've had to make. I've been scheduled to fight 18 times and I have made that walk every time. I want to apologize to Jon Jones, Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White and all of the UFC fans for not being able to defend my title. This truly saddens me, but as with everything else in life, it goes on. The recovery should not take very long and I can't wait to compete and defend my title again. For all the fans, thanks for your support, I appreciate each and every one of you. DC."
UFC President Dana White announced that Ovince St. Preux will replace the injured Cormier in the top-of-the-card event vs. Jones slated for Saturday, April 23 MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Cormier won the UFC light-heavyweight title in May 2015 in a match vs. Anthony Johnson. He successfully defended the title this past October vs. Alexander Gustafson at UFC 192. Top-ranked Cormier has an overall professional mixed martial arts record of 17-1, and 6-1 in UFC; Jones, ranked No. 2, is 21-1 in MMA overall, and 15-1 UFC. Jones' new UFC 197 opponent, St. Preux, is the No. 8 ranked light-heavy, with an overall 19-7 record, 7-2 in UFC.
Prior to launching his MMA career in September 2009, Cormier was a two-time NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) champion at Colby Community College in Kansas, who then transferred to NCAA Division I powerhouse Oklahoma State. The Louisiana native earned All-American honors by making it to the 184-pound finals of the 2001 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, where he lost to Iowa State's Cael Sanderson, 2004 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle, now head coach at Penn State. In addition to his college credentials, Cormier earned a place on the US freestyle team for the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now