Retired Anthony Johnson To Launch Appeal to NYSAC Regarding Daniel Cormier Towel Controversy

Chris Weidman isn't the only person launching an appeal following the events of UFC 210.

According to a report by ESPN's Brett Okamoto, the newly retired Anthony Johnson will appeal the result of Johnson's April 8 main event in Buffalo, New York, where “Rumble” was submitted via rear-naked choke by Daniel Cormier in the second round. Following the bout, the 33-year-old surprisingly announced he was hanging up his gloves and stepping away from MMA.

Johnson's protest stems from the events surrounding the April 7 weigh-in, where the champion Cormier initially weighed in at 206.2 pounds. The two-time Olympian stepped off the scale, left the weigh-in area for less than three minutes, then returned to weigh in at 205 pounds exactly, thereby giving the title fight the green light.

Cormier instantly attracted attention and controversy for his second weigh-in, where he appeared to grab the towel held up in front of his naked body in an attempt to interfere with the scale. Cormier has denied that his actions had any impact on him making weight.

Johnson's manager Ali Abdelaziz told ESPN that the Johnson team intends to file a formal complaint with the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) "sometime this week” and that he had informed UFC President Dana White of their intent prior to the Cormier-Johnson rematch.

"We don't want to take anything away from [Cormier]. He earned that win," Abdelaziz continued. "But [Cormier] needs to give up 20 percent of his purse to Anthony. He had two extra hours to cut the weight and I think he probably would have made it, but as it happened, I don't think he made weight."

Abdelaziz also stated that the Johnson side would do “whatever it takes” to find remedy to the situation, even if it means launching a lawsuit against the NYSAC.

"I understand New York is new to regulating mixed martial arts, but they've been doing boxing for a long time," Abelaziz added. "Everybody is trying to sweep this under the rug, but it's not going to happen."

News of Johnson's appeal comes just a day after former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman announced his intent to protest the hotly-debated outcome of his second-round TKO loss to Gegard Mousasi at UFC 210.