Daniel Cormier Relinquishes UFC Light Heavyweight Title Before UFC 232, Jon Jones & Dana White Respond

Daniel Cormier has relinquished the UFC light heavyweight title ahead of UFC 232 rather than be stripped of it. Cormier issued a statement to ESPN announcing that he has decided to give the title up on his own rather than have it be taken from him to be awarded to the winner of Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson at this weekend’s PPV.

“Today I am going to relinquish the UFC light heavyweight title,” Cormier said in his statement. “I am not going to be stripped of the belt that I’ve defended with my all for three and a half years. Being stripped of a title suggests you’ve done something wrong, and I haven’t. I’d rather walk away this way, with my head held high as it always has been, than have the history books say I was stripped. I’ve defended this title this year. I was approached with the idea of fighting at heavyweight, so I took it. I fought three times in 2018. No champion has been more active than me. I am the fighter of the year. My story and my legacy will not include me being stripped of a title. They can have it.”

Jones and Dana White have since responded to Cormier’s announcement, each offering their own takes. For Jones, Cormier wasn’t giving up anything that was ever really his to begin with.

“My opinion on that is, dude, you never were the champ,” Jones said. “I think he knows that in his spirit. He never beat me. He actually lost to me twice. So relinquishing the belt, it’s just like, it wasn’t ever really his belt. I think in the fans’ eyes, they know, it’s been Jon Jones’ belt … since 2011. If it wasn’t, why would you relinquish it? Why would you not fight and make a stink about it? He’s giving it up because he knows the rightful owner of it is here. I feel like he knows that he won’t beat me, and so he’s making it look honorable by retiring. It’s like being an NFL player and retiring before being cut.”

As for White, he told the site, “He hates Jon Jones, so he is overly dramatic about all of this situation right now, because of the hatred that he has for this man. He wasn’t being stripped of the title. The title was being vacated. Vacated and stripped are two completely different things. Of course Daniel Cormier wouldn’t be stripped of anything. He was vacating the title. He couldn’t defend it. And that’s it. I love the guy. He hates Jon Jones. Jon Jones hates him. And I would expect nothing less than him being on a rampage like he is right now.”