UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has been forced to withdraw from his UFC 197 rematch with former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Reports are indicating that it’s a left leg injury that will keep Cormier out of the Apr. 23 main event.
Sources told Talk MMA on Mar. 26 that Cormier was present at a wrestling match and “could barely walk on his left leg.”
Cormier was looking to avenge his first loss to Jones at UFC 182, but the rematch will have to wait. It’s unclear if there will be a replacement for Cormier in order to keep Jones on the card or if UFC president Dana White will choose to pull the fight completely.
This announcement comes only one day after the UFC said that Jones would remain on the card despite his recent arrest for a probation violation. He was pulled over in New Mexico and handed five citations — including one for drag racing — which the judge deemed a violation of his probation from his plea agreement following a hit-and-run accident last year.