Daniel Cormier says he will defend his light heavyweight belt again in UFC promo

Daniel Cormier is the current UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion. However, he is expected to be stripped of his light heavyweight title so that Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson can fight for the title at UFC 232.

Well, not so fast.

Last night, at UFC Fight Night 138 in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, top light heavyweight contenders Volkan Oezdemir and Anthony Smith fought in the main event. Ahead of the fight, the UFC ran a promo featuring Daniel Cormier and his son, and the kids he coaches in wrestling. In this promo, Cormier said outright that he will defend his belt again.

Ultimately, Smith won by third-round submission.

So is Smith next in line to fight the double-champ?

Father. Husband. Coach. Double Champ.@dc_mma has us ready to run through a wall! #UFCMoncton pic.twitter.com/uGcJEZHsHX

— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) October 28, 2018

(Edited slightly for clarity and to avoid repeating):

“Forget it. Forget everything, you have accomplished up to this point,” Cormier’s son and students say in this promo. “If you want any shot, at the light heavyweight title, if you wanna fight our coach, Daniel ‘The Double Champ’ ‘DC’ Cormier you must win tonight. Yeah, yeah, we know about your last two wins in a combined 70 seconds. ‘No Time’ Oezdemir has a nice ring to it, but did you know that the ‘Lionheart’ has more first round finishes than you. Don’t worry Anthony, we know all about your back-to-back wins over former champions. We know that you think you are one win away from a title shot. But while you were building up your resume, Coach DC was busy making history.

“But tonight, you get to make your case that you are next in line. How will you stand out when the light heavyweight division takes center stage, in the hub city. If you want any shot at my dad’s title, you must win,” they continue.

“I don’t care about Jon Jones or Alexander Gustafsson,” Cormier adds himself. “Tonight’s your night, sure. Trust me when I say this, I will be back to defend my light heavyweight championship.”

This truly is another remarkable wrinkle in the UFC’s light heavyweight division. With Cormier saying he is going to defend, will the UFC still strip him? Will Jones vs Gustafsson be for an interim title? There are tons of questions to be answered and with this promo, the promotion is likely to cause quite a stir.

Do you believe Daniel Cormier will defend his light heavyweight title again?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/26/2018.