Daniel Cormier stands in the cage before his bout with Antonio Silva during the Strikeforce World Grand Prix Semifinals event at US Bank Arena on September 10, 2011 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Forza LLC/Forza LLC via Getty Images)
Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner Daniel Cormier will potentially be next to fight Jon Jones, UFC president Dana White said over the weekend.
White said that he’s open to the heavyweight fighting at light heavyweight or heavyweight, but a possible showdown between Cormier and the UFC light heavyweight champion could be next up once Jones and Chael Sonnen battle in April.
“He could be next in line to fight Jones,” Whtie said following the UFC 155 post-fight press conference on Saturday. “It’s awesome. He’s going to bring a lot of excitement to the heavyweight or light heavyweight division.”
Cormier is currently scheduled to face Dion Staring at the final Strikeforce event on Jan. 12. Following that match-up, Strikeforce will shut down as a promotion, and Cormier will officially make his transition to the UFC.
Cormier’s teammate, Cain Velasquez, won the UFC heavyweight title from Junior dos Santos on Saturday night. Before the fight, the champ said that a win for him would have his American Kickboxing Academy cohort think about dropping to 205 pounds to avoid fighting each other.
Now that Velasquez holds the title, the door to light heavyweight seems wide open for Cormier, but when asked he wouldn’t confirm if he would walk through it.
“It’s always good to leave … a cliffhanger,” Cormier said following the press conference, urging the UFC president not to tell the media anything else.
Cormier made his name known by entering Strikeforce’s heavyweight tournament as an alternate, earning a first-round knockout of Antonio Silva. He went on to face former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett in finals of the tournament and won a unanimous decision.
Cormier was supposed to face Frank Mir in Strikeforce at a November event, but Mir sustained an injury and the event was ultimately canceled. Reports have indicated that Cormier would like to face Mir once he arrives in the UFC.
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