UFC Reinstates Daniel Cormier As Light Heavyweight Champion

Daniel Cormier is still the UFC light heavyweight champion.

The UFC reinstated Cormier as the 205-pound king on Wednesday after the California State Athletic Commission elected to overturn Jon Jones’ victory against Cormier at UFC 214 to a no contest earlier in the day. Jones tested positive for the steroid Turinabol in a urine test administered after weigh-ins on July 28. Both his “A” and “B” samples came back positive for the same banned substance.

"UFC was informed Wednesday that the result of the UFC 214 bout between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier on July 29 was overturned by the California State Athletic Commission,” the statement read. “The ruling changes the Jones ‘win’ to a ‘no contest’ following a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an in-competition sample collected after Jones’ weigh-in on July 28, 2017.

“As this was a title bout, Cormier will be reinstated as UFC light heavyweight champion.”

Cormier initially claimed the 205-pound title with a victory over Anthony Johnson at UFC 187 after Jones was stripped of the belt and suspended indefinitely for fleeing the scene of a hit-and-run accident in Albuquerque, N.M., in April 2015. The American Kickboxing Academy stalwart successful defended the belt with a split-decision triumph against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 192 and a second-round submission in a rematch with Johnson at UFC 210.

Cormier appeared on “UFC Tonight” Wednesday and relayed a discussion he had with UFC President Dana White regarding the promotion’s decision.

“If it’s a no contest, then the fight didn’t happen,” Cormier said. “[White] said, ‘If one of you guys would have missed weight, he would have won the fight, but you still would have kept the belt. Because of that, the championship is getting returned to you.’ The fight is a no contest. If he cheated, he could not have fought and cheated and still won the fight.

“Once again, I’m the UFC champion.”

Jones defeated Cormier via unanimous decision in their first meeting at UFC 182. The Jackson-Wink MMA product could be facing as much as a four-year suspension for his second failed drug test. Last year, he tested positive for two estrogen blockers prior to UFC 200. Jones is still entitled to a full adjudication process with USADA before any sanctions are imposed. Cormier, however, seems to have his mind made up on the matter.

“He disqualified himself for taking a steroid before the fight, so it didn’t happen,” Cormier said. “So now I get the belt back, which is the right thing to do. And I’m not only saying that because it’s me. It’s the right thing to do. You don’t cheat the sport, you don’t cheat the fans, you don’t cheat me. You have all the physical advantages, sir. You’re 30 years old, you’re 6-4, you’ve got an 85-inch reach. I’m 38 years old. I would love to take stuff and not have to wake up every morning and walk down my stairs sideways.”