‘Rumble’ Says He Doesn’t Want Cormier Stripped, But Does Want Answers for UFC 210 Weigh-ins

Although his appeal says otherwise, Anthony Johnson claims he doesn’t want light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier stripped of his title for his actions at the UFC 210 weigh-ins.

Cormier defeated Johnson via second-round submission in the UFC 210 headliner in Buffalo, N.Y., on April 8. “Rumble” retired following the defeat and said that he would have made the same decision even if he had defeated Cormier.

“First and foremost, I never said I wanted DC stripped of the title. He beat me and that’s that,” Johnson wrote Thursday on his Instagram account. “...Weigh-ins was messed up and at the end of the day it was wrong. If I lose fans because I’m fighting for what’s right then so be it.”

Cormier initially checked in at 206.2 pounds at the UFC 210 weigh-ins on April 7. He returned to the scale less than three minutes late and hit 205 on the nose. However, “DC” grabbed the privacy towel while weighing in, which could have manipulated the reading on the scale. While Cormier denies any wrongdoing, Johnson’s team formally filed an appeal on Thursday with the New York State Athletic Commission that called for the champion to forfeit 20 percent of his purse as well as his belt.

However, Johnson claims that for him, it’s more about holding Cormier accountable for what he did at weigh-ins than it is about money or titles.

“I’m not complaining about the loss, I’m complaining about the weigh-ins,” Johnson wrote. “D.C. shouldn’t be stripped at all but for sure answer to the weigh-in situation...Btw this definitely isn’t about money, that’s for damn sure. It’s the principle of the situation for you knuckleheads that have no brain.”