Dana White Confirms Daniel Cormier Will Likely Be Stripped of Light Heavyweight Title

Daniel Cormier’s dream to retire as a two division UFC champion may come to an end in the near future.

As the UFC continues to put together fights to close out 2018, Cormier is on the shelf with a broken hand suffered in his heavyweight title fight win against Stipe Miocic back in July. Add to that, Cormier’s next fight is expected to happen at heavyweight against former champion Brock Lesnar in early 2019.

With Cormier focused on heavyweight and unable to fight at 205 pounds before the end of the year, UFC president Dana White believes the time is coming soon when the organization will have to take the light heavyweight title away from him.

“Cormier is hurt right now,” White explained when speaking to “UFC Unfiltered.” “He broke his hand in the Stipe [Miocic] fight. So when they’re in these types of situations, much like the Conor [McGregor] situation and others that it’s happened to, Georges St-Pierre, whoever, Cormier by tying up two belts is going to have to give up one of the belts.”

As far as Cormier getting a third fight against longtime rival Jon Jones, who will be eligible to return after Oct. 28, White says that as much interest as he might have in seeing those two face off at heavyweight, it’s not want the current two-division champion wants.

According to White, Cormier has insisted on facing Jones at light heavyweight if they were to meet again after he fell to the former champion on two previous occasions.

“[Cormier] wants to fight Jon Jones and beat Jon Jones at 205 [pounds],” White revealed. “Not that that’s going to happen, but that’s what he wants in a perfect world. I would obviously rather see them fight at heavyweight, but I really don’t know if Jon Jones wants to move up to heavyweight. It really hasn’t played out yet.”

White had previously confirmed that he hoped to put together a fight between Jones and Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232 on Dec. 29 in Las Vegas.

Putting the light heavyweight title up for grabs in a fight of that magnitude makes sense, but it seems like the UFC isn’t interest in interim belts. White seems to prefer allowing Cormier to pursue his fight against Lesnar at heavyweight next year and crown a new 205-pound champion in his absence.

Nothing is settled just yet, but it appears the UFC is moving closer and closer to crowning a new light heavyweight champion sooner rather than later.