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What's the story?
Daniel Cormier finally relinquished the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship yesterday and unsurprisingly enough, his arch-rival Jon Jones gave his two cents on the newest development.
In case you didn't know...
The build-up to the final card of the year has been marred by the revelation of Jon Jones' most recent failed drug test. The former Light Heavyweight Champion tested positive for small amounts for Turnibol which was said to be residues of his ingestion from July 2017.
The entire card was subsequently moved to California and despite the inconvenience caused to the fighters, their families, the fans and of course the UFC, the show is thankfully going forward as scheduled.
To avoid being stripped of the title once the main event of 232 gets underway, Cormier made the announcement that he would be relinquishing the title as it would look much better in the history books. Jones, though, didn't miss out on the opportunity to fire shots at the UFC Heavyweight Champion.
The heart of the matter
Jones said that DC did the smart thing by giving up the title and added that his bitter rival was never the real champion. DC has been unsuccessful in both his fights against Bones and the polarizing 31-year-old stated that undermines DC's reign as the Light Heavyweight Champion.
He declared that in the eyes of the fans, the Light Heavyweight strap is still Jon Jones' belt.
"He's giving it up because he knows the rightful owner is here. I think he knows that he won't beat me and so he's making it look honorable by retiring. It's like an NFL player retiring before being cut. It's kind of a similar thing," Jones concluded.
What's next?
All eyes are now on the UFC 232 main event where the winner the fight will be adjudged the undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion. Gustafsson and Jones are expected to put on a barnburner of a fight but the question remains, will DC be tempted to get back to Light Heavyweight for a fight against the winner?
As of now, DC can firmly focus on the Heavyweight division.
