UFC Light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has apologized to fans for having to pull out of UFC 197 due to a foot injury, and also revealed that he won’t be out of action for too long.
“The decision to not fight on April 23rd was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make,” Cormer stated on Instagram. “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.”
If Cormier is indeed only out of action for a short period of time then it leaves the UFC with an interesting decision to make – providing Jones is able to overcome ‘DC’s’ replacement Ovince St. Preux at UFC 197 later this month.
if Jones comes out of that fight relatively unscathed then it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Jones Vs Cormier title rematch could take the UFC 200 co-main event spot on July 9th.
On the other hand, the UFC may be tempted to hold of that fight until their Madison Square Garden debut in New York City, which they are hoping will take place in the 4th quarter of 2016. Jones was born in New York, so that would be a perfect fit for him, though Cormier has indicated in the past that he doesn’t want to fight his rival to have the home advantage.
