Yahoo Sports Daniel Cormier vs. Dan Henderson Revealed as UFC 173 Co-Main Event
The long-rumored light heavyweight bout between Daniel Cormier and Dan Henderson has finally become official.
After weeks of denying anything was “done,” UFC president Dana White announced the bout on ESPN’s SportsCenter on Wednesday. Cormier vs. Henderson will serve as the UFC 173 co-main event on May 24 in Las Vegas.
“We got it done, May 24 in Las Vegas, co-main event, Dan Henderson vs. Daniel Cormier,” White revealed.
The bout had first been targeted for the UFC 175 pay-per-view on July 5, but after a shuffling and then re-shuffling of the deck, Cormier vs. Henderson lands on the UFC 173 fight card.
A major contributing factor has been Nevada’s recent decision to ban TRT exemptions. Henderson has admittedly been on a TRT regimen for some time, and he had to get that situation cleared up before he could fight in Nevada again.
“Dan Henderson had to get back with Nevada. He needed to take a test. His levels came in perfect and we were able to get it done,” White added on ESPN’s MMA Live Extra. (Click here to watch Dana White's interview on MMA Live Extra.)
Moving Cormier vs. Henderson to the May 24 card makes it a bit of a quick turn for Henderson (30-11), who recently defeated Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for a second time in their March 23 headlining bout in Brazil.
Cormier (14-0) comes into the fight on the heels of his successful light heavyweight debut, having defeated Patrick Cummins at UFC 170 in February.
