Four Fighters Who’d Face Daniel Cormier At UFC 200 If Given The Chance

LAS VEGAS — Daniel Cormier still wants to fight at UFC 200, but he’ll need an opponent after Jon Jones was pulled from Saturday night’s main card because of a potential doping violation.

The good news for Cormier is there’s no shortage of volunteers to face him on such short notice. Here are four fighters who already offered to tangle with the UFC light heavyweight champion in Jones’ absence.

MICHAEL BISPING

This matchup would be quite the surprise as Bisping just wrested the middleweight title from Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 last month. Bisping is 30-7 in his pro career.

ALEXANDER GUSTAFSSON
https://twitter.com/AlexTheMauler/status/750956764837867521

https://twitter.com/AlexTheMauler/status/750965045820059648

Gustafsson would be an interesting choice since he lost split decisions to Cormier at UFC 192 last year and to Jones at UFC 165 in 2003. Gustafsson has a professional record of 16-4 and is the No. 4 light heavyweight contender.

ILIR LATIFI

Latifi, the 13th-ranked light heavyweight contender, might seem like a long shot, but he has won his previous three fights and, like Gustafsson, is scheduled to fight in UFC Fight Night Hamburg in September. That means Latifi has been training and might be able to step in on such short notice.

GEGARD MOUSASI

Shortly after he sent that tweet, Mousasi spent the rest of his Wednesday night retweeting fans who agreed he’d be the best choice to face Cormier. Mousasi, a middleweight who’s 38-6-2 as a pro, would give up 30 or so pounds if he fought Cormier.

Mousasi doesn’t care, though.

No matter which way he goes, UFC president Dana White has his work cut out for him if he wants to ensure Cormier receives a payday this weekend. And the list of suitors for a Cormier fight likely will grow as news of Jones’ departure spreads.

Thumbnail photo by Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports Images