Daniel Cormier issued the following statement to ESPN, announcing he will relinquish the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship before UFC 232:
“Today I am going to relinquish the UFC light heavyweight title. 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.”
Cormier says he’d rather relinquish the title instead of having it stripped by UFC once Jon Jones and Alexander Gustaffson fight for it tomorrow night. He is also the current UFC Heavyweight Champion, winning that title back at UFC 226.
He has been on record saying he will retire from MMA competition when he turns 40 in March. His name has also come up in regards to a non-competitive future in WWE, as he was linked to reports that he would have a tryout for commentary with the company after his fight at UFC 230.
Daniel Cormier postponed his WWE tryout after he took on the UFC 230 fight with Derrick Lewis, but told Busted Open Radio that he would revisit the opportunity in the future. Cormier specified that his interest is in commentary and does not have any aspirations to be an in-ring competitor.
