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Daniel Cormier Has Relinquished The UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Rather Than Being ‘Stripped’

Daniel Cormier Has Relinquished The UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Rather Than Being ‘Stripped’

Daniel Cormier no longer holds the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, saying his “legacy will not include me being stripped of a title.”

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz

Daniel Cormier has relinquished his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship after saying that he would not be "stripped of a title."

The 39-year-old MMA fighter took to Instagram to explain his reason for dropping the belt.

"Today, I am going to relinquish the UFC light heavyweight title," he wrote. "I am not going to be stripped of the belt that I've defended with my all for three and a half years. Being stripped of a title suggests you've done something wrong, and I haven't.

"I'd rather walk away this way, with my head held high as it always has been, than have the history books say I was stripped.

"I've defended this title this year. I was approached with the idea of fighting at heavyweight, so I took it. I fought three times in 2018.

PA

"No champion has been more active than me. I am the fighter of the year. My story and my legacy will not include me being stripped of a title. They can have it."

DC, who also holds the UFC Heavyweight Championship, would have had to relinquish the Light Heavyweight Championship at the upcoming UFC 232, with Jon Jones fighting Alexander Gustafsson in a rematch.

Considering Cormier's fierce rivalry with Jones, he's probably not keen on the 31-year-old American receiving the belt after he has been stripped of it (should he win, of course).

Earlier this week, UFC president Dana White confirmed that UFC 232 had been moved from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to California after Jones' recent drug test results.

UFC 232 will be held on 30th December.







Who will emerge victorious out of Jones and Gustafsson?

Let us know in the comments.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier, UFC News, UFC, Alexander Gustafsson, MMA