The champ-champ is now just “champ.”
Daniel Cormier was due to be stripped of his UFC light heavyweight belt as soon as round one of Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson II got underway in tomorrow night’s UFC 232 main event. Instead of being stripped, Cormier has opted to relinquish the title... aka “lose the belt a day early.”
“Today I am going to relinquish the UFC light heavyweight title,” Cormier said in a statement to ESPN. “I am not going to be stripped of the belt that I’ve defended with my all for three and a half years.