UFC Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier announced that he had relinquished the UFC Light Heavyweight Title ahead of tonight’s UFC 232 event.
Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones is a longtime rival of Cormier and he says the fans knew who the real 205 pound champion was the whole time.
“It’s up to Daniel Cormier to challenge me to get his belt back,” Jones said on the UFC 232 weigh-in show. “I heard that he ended up relinquishing his belt, and I think that’s a good look. But at the end of the day, I know most people know that he never was the champion. Hats off to him for being the heavyweight champion of the world, but I’ve been the light heavyweight champion since 2011. That’s just facts. That’s just facts. The belt was given to him. He has not beaten me. So, he can cancel all doubts by challenging me and really being a legit champ champ.”
Cormier and Jones fought twice before, with Jones winning at UFC 182, while an initial victory for Jones at UFC 214 was ruled a no contest after he failed a drug test in line with the event.
Dana White says that the hatred Cormier has for Jones is what made the situation seem a little dramatic in the end.
“He’s being a little dramatic right now,” White told MMA Junkie. “He’s being a little dramatic because of his hatred for Jon Jones. He would’ve never been stripped. He’s vacating. … I expect Cormier to be all fired up and on a rampage. He hates this guy.”
A new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion will get crowned tonight at UFC 232, when Jones faces Alexander Gustafsson for the second time in the main event.
