The UFC 206 main event took a major hit on Friday, as an undisclosed injury has forced Daniel Cormier out of his light heavyweight title defense.
Cormier was supposed to put his belt on the line in a rematch with Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. The initial news came from an MMAFighting.com report that Cormier suffered an injury and had to withdraw.
Johnson confirmed the fight was canceled via his Instagram account, and tweeted to the champion, “I wish nothing but the best for DC and I hope you have a full recovery champ.”
Promotion officials are scrambling to figure out a new main event, but it's not yet clear if they'll be able to keep Johnson on the card or not, as the options for a new opponent are scarce. Former champion Jon Jones is under suspension and Johnson has recently knocked out the other top 5 light heavyweights.
If Johnson is to remain on the card, a heavyweight bout could be an option. He has fought at heavyweight in the past, defeating former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski at WSOF 2 in 2013.
UFC 206 was also supposed to feature a rescheduled middleweight bout between Tim Kennedy and Rashad Evans. That bout, however, was canceled for a second time when Ontario regulators, like those in New York, refused to license Evans for the fight.
Other bouts still scheduled for UFC 206 include a high-profile featherweight fight between Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis, as well as a welterweight bout pitting Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone against Matt Brown.
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