UFC OFFICIALS BREATHED a sigh of relief last night after Daniel Cormier confirmed that a fall he suffered at the pre-fight press conference won’t threaten his involvement in tomorrow night’s headline bout at UFC 226.
Cormier, the UFC’s reigning light-heavyweight champion, will emulate Conor McGregor by holding two belts simultaneously if he can get the better of heavyweight title-holder Stipe Miocic at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
As he stood up to leave at the end of last night’s press conference, Cormier took a tumble when he tripped over a speaker on the stage. There was concern for the 39-year-old, who remained on the floor for several seconds before eventually being helped up. He exited the stage rather gingerly but was able to return shortly afterwards for a face-off with his opponent.
Cormier later told ESPN from his hotel room that he was resting and icing his leg as the incident had caused swelling. However, he insisted in an Instagram post that the fight isn’t in doubt: “All good, everyone. Fight is a go!”
Being forced to cancel tomorrow night’s main event could have had disastrous consequences for the UFC, who already lost the other title fight that was scheduled for the UFC 226 bill earlier this week.
Max Holloway, who was due to defend his featherweight belt against Brian Ortega, withdrew from their fight on Wednesday after experiencing concussion-like symptoms.
Cormier’s fall was almost reminiscent of an incident that ruled Tony Ferguson out of his lightweight title bout against Khabib Nurmagomedov in April. Ferguson sustained a knee injury which required surgery when he tripped on a cable in a TV studio.
The UFC has been enduring a dismal spell of fighter withdrawals from high-profile bouts. According to data collated by MMAjunkie.com’s Mike Bohn, 18 main or co-main event fights have already been affected this year.
