Daniel Cormier vs Alexander Gustafsson Official, UFC 191 Announced
In the midst of an insane week of news, the UFC has been announcing fights left, right and center. The promotion has confirmed that Daniel Cormier will be facing Alexander Gustafsson in his first defense of his newly won 205-pound title, and Luke Rockhold was given the go ahead for a title fight against ‘All-American’ Chris Weidman. Considering the ongoing ‘beef’ between Ryan Bader and ‘DC’, that first part of news was perhaps unexpected, but widely welcomed in comparison to Cormier taking on ‘Darth’. Check out what Cormier posted on Twitter:
Fighting Gustafsson not ufc 191. # andstill
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) June 4, 2015
The UFC confirmed late last night that UFC 191 will be taking place on September 5th, 2015 in the MGM Grand Garden Arena, but are yet to fill the Las Vegas, Nevada based card with any talent. An obvious option, or two, were mentioned above. Luke Rockhold is fit and healthy, and maybe Weidman, for once, has escaped a title fight without too many knocks in the process. The Serra-Longo product got the job done early on against Vitor Belfort at UFC 187, and the former Strikeforce GP winner Daniel Cormier could potentially make a September date too.
There was speculation across the web of ‘DC’ and Gustafsson indeed facing off in Las Vegas this coming September, but it appears the light heavyweight champion has heard otherwise. One question that might get raised is that of Gustafsson’s last fight, and he was seriously KTFO against the man that ‘DC’ beat for the title, Anthony Johnson. Light heavyweight is in a very transitional state right now.
Whether or not these fights stay set in stone is another question though, and having now invalidated the feud between Cormier and Bader, the UFC might find themselves in a sticky spot if Gus pulls out of a fight against ‘DC’. ”’The Mauler’ has been forced out of fights with Gegard Mousasi, Glover Teixeira and Jon Jones in the past, so it’s not impossible to imagine the same fate befalling his shot against the current 205-pound boss.
UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson also raised his hand in connection with fighting at UFC 191, although his involvement at PPV (pay-per-view) card level hasn’t drummed up much custom in the past, the dominant champion can only carry on the path he has carved; winning and smashing the contenders one-by-one. So it could well be another double header of title fights if Weidman and ‘Mighty Mouse’ get on the Vegas card, or if Cormier is right there may be yet another big announcement coming today. Or how about a triple header? Nah, surely not.
Stay tuned to LowKickMMA!
