Daniel Cormier withdraws from UFC 206 fight vs. Anthony Johnson

ByBrett Okamoto ESPN logo
Friday, November 25, 2016

UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier is injured and has pulled out of a scheduled title defense against Anthony Johnson at UFC 206, a source confirmed to ESPN.

According to the source, Cormier suffered an undisclosed injury that will likely require surgery and is expected to miss four to six weeks.

MMAFighting.com first reported Cormier's withdrawal Friday. The UFC has not commented on Cormier's injury. The 205-pound title fight was supposed to headline the pay-per-view card on Dec. 10 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

Johnson (22-5) addressed the situation on Twitter, saying he hopes Cormier has a "full recovery."

Cormier (18-1) responded to Johnson:

It is not yet known whether Johnson will remain on the card. The bout was to be a rematch of a May 2015 title fight, when Cormier won the vacant title by submitting Johnson at UFC 187.

A featherweight bout between Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis is currently scheduled as the co-main event of UFC 206.