UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will next defend his belt against Anthony Johnson on December 10th in Toronto, Canada, at UFC 206.
What is unclear at this point is if Cormier vs. Johnson 2 will actually serve as the main event, with rumors continuing to circulate regarding the return of Georges St-Pierre to the Octagon.
Time to run it back. After beating ‘Rumble’ to become the 205lb king back at UFC 187 last May, DC is heading into the first rematch of his professional MMA career. Serving as an analyst on UFC Tonight, Cormier broke the news on the weekly Fox Sports 1 show last night.
“The city of Toronto is still buzzing after the Blue Jays’ walk-off home run last night,” Cormier said. “The only thing more exciting than that is that I am defending the undisputed UFC light heavyweight title in the Six on December 10 at UFC 206, only on pay-per-view. Down will go Rumble… again.”
Cormier beat Johnson via third round rear naked choke submission when the two first met, but since Rumble has been on a tear with knockout wins over Jimi Manuwa, Ryan Bader and most recently Glover Teixeira, truly earning his way back to another crack at the strap.
Since becoming champion, Cormier has only defended his belt once, a unanimous decision victory over Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 192. He was then due to rematch Jon Jones (current interim light heavyweight champion) at UFC 200. But a potential USADA violation scuppered that and Jones was pulled off the card.
At the last minute, former middleweight great Anderson Silva stepped in but Cormier handled him easily over the course of three rounds to earn a one-sided judges decision.
Meanwhile, former UFC welterweight champion St-Pierre has been campaigning through various interviews and expressed his interest in making a return to the Octagon after a three-year hiatus. But UFC president Dana White essentially isn’t buying it.
Maybe that’s just posturing and another example of power plays between UFC fighters and the brass, but how about current UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping adding another wrinkle to story.
Bisping held court at yesterday’s UFC 204 open workouts in Manchester, UK, and whilst he has Dan Henderson to deal with at UFC 205 this weekend, he already has one eye on potential fight with GSP at UFC 206. Bisping maintains though that the Canadian is asking for too much money.
“I’m going to beat Dan Henderson and then if GSP wants it in Toronto in December then I’m good,” Bisping said. “GSP keeps talking, time do some walking pal. I’ve never turned down a fight in my life. If GSP wants to do it then just call Dana.
“I know he said he wants $10m but don’t say on the one hand, ‘I want to fight Bisping’ and then on the other hand price yourself out of the market. I like GSP but I’ve never backed down from an opponent in my life and sure as hell won’t start with a welterweight who’s been retired for three years.”
