Daniel Cormier reinstated as UFC light heavyweight champion

Daniel Cormier is the UFC light heavyweight champion once again.

Cormier, a former All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State, confirmed Wednesday on “UFC Tonight” that UFC President Dana White told him earlier in the day that he’s the titleholder once again.

Jon Jones defeated Cormier via third-round TKO to win the belt at UFC 214 on July 29 in Anaheim, California. However, Jones tested positive for Turinabol, a steroid, and the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) overturned the fight to a no contest.

Thus making Cormier the champion again.

“If it’s a no contest, then the fight didn’t happen,” Cormier said, according to MMA Fighting. “[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.”

Cormier (19-1, 1 NC) won the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 187 against Anthony Johnson in May 2015 after Jones was stripped of the title and suspended indefinitely after facing felony charges from a traffic incident in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Cormier has defended the title four times before UFC 214.

Cormier’s next opponent will likely be Alexander Gustafsson (18-4) or Volkan Oezdemir (15-1). Cormier defeated Gustafsson via split decision at UFC 192 in October 2015. Since the loss, Gustafsson is 2-0 with wins over Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira. Oezdemir made his UFC debut in February of this year, and he’s 3-0 with two knockouts under 30 seconds.