Daniel Cormier is back to being the UFC light heavyweight champion.
UFC reinstated Daniel Cormier as its light heavyweight champion Wednesday night, following Jon Jones’ failed drug test prior to UFC 214 in July. Cormier said he spoke with UFC president Dana White earlier in the day and White told him he is the title holder again.
Jon Jones defeated Cormier to win the belt at UFC 214 on July 29 in Anaheim, Calif. contest — no longer a win for Jones. On Wednesday morning, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) overturned the fight to a no contest — no longer a win for Jones.
“If it’s a no contest, then the fight didn’t happen,” Cormier said. “[White] said, ‘If one of you guys would have missed weight, he would have won the fight, but you still would have kept the belt. Because of that, the championship is getting returned to you.’ The fight is a no contest. If he cheated, he could not have fought and cheated and still won the fight.
“Once again, I’m the UFC champion.”
“I talked to [CSAC] and was like, ‘I lost. I lost the fight,'” Cormier said. “As a competitor, that’s how I felt. [UFC president] Dana White called me today and said, ‘If it’s a no-contest, then the fight didn’t happen.’
“Now, people will say stuff like, ‘You got handed the belt.’ He cheated. The reality is, for me to say, ‘I don’t want this title,’ when I was going to be [fighting] in a championship anyway, financially it’s just a big difference if I don’t fight as the champion as opposed to fighting for a vacant title.”
“We had one of the biggest fights of the year,” Cormier said. “Once again, this guy has made a mockery of the sport.”
The UFC released a statement on the matter, which can be read in full below:
UFC was informed Wednesday that the result of the UFC 214 bout between Jon Jonesand Daniel Cormier on July 29 was overturned by the California State Athletic Commission. The ruling changes the Jones ‘win’ to a ‘no contest’ following a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an in-competition sample collected after Jones’ weigh-in on July 28, 2017.
As this was a title bout, Cormier will be reinstated as UFC light heavyweight champion.
Watch what Daniel Cormier had to say about Jon Jones’ positive B sample.
Published: 15 September, 2017 | 4:59 AM EDT
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