UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier has a date for his next assignment, and it’s a rematch against Anthony Johnson. Cormier submitted Johnson in the third round of their first bout at UFC 187.
Cormier announced the news on Wednesday’s edition of UFC Tonight.
Cormier (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) went 11-0 before joining the UFC and was the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion. “DC” debuted against Frank Mir at UFC on FOX 7 and won a decision before taking another decision, this time over Roy Nelson. The former Olympian then made the move down to light heavyweight, and stopped late replacement Patrick Cummins at UFC 170. In his second bout at UFC 205, Cormier dominated fellow Olympian Dan Henderson, before eventually choking him unconscious. Then came the fight against Jon Jones, where the two faced off in one of the biggest grudge matches in UFC history, but Cormier lost a decision to Jones. He rebounded from the loss by winning the vacant title following the UFC stripping Jones, defeating Johnson via submission. He defended the title at UFC 192 against Alexander Gustafsson, winning a hard fought decision. In his most recent bout, Cormier defeated Anderson Silva, who was a short notice replacement for Jon Jones at UFC 200.
Johnson (22-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) went 7-4 in his first UFC run, but had a hard time making weight, as he was fighting at 185lbs. He then left the UFC and fought at light heavyweight and even once at heavyweight. UFC 172 was when he made his return, and upset Phil Davis to win a decision. “Rumble” then went on to stop Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Alexander Gustafsson in the first round before tapping to a rear naked choke against the aforementioned Cormier. Since the loss, Johnson has defeated Jimi Manuwa, Ryan Bader and Glover Teixeira, all by knockout.
UFC 210 takes place live from the Keybank Center in Buffalo, New York on April 8th, 2017.
