Daniel Cormier will defend the UFC light-heavyweight title against Alexander Gustafsson later this year.
A date and venue has yet to be determined, but UFC president Dana White confirmed the matchup on FOX Sports 1 late Wednesday.
Cormier (16-1) won the vacant 205-pound title last month when he submitted Anthony Johnson in the main event of UFC 187, approximately one month after Jon Jones was stripped of the belt due to multiple violations of the UFC Fighter Conduct Policy.
Meanwhile, Gustafsson (16-3) is coming off a TKO loss to Johnson in January. It’s just the third time a fighter has been given a light-heavyweight title shot while coming off a loss. Chael Sonnen was given a shot against Jones at UFC 159 in 2013 and Cormier was coming off a loss to Jones prior to replacing him at UFC 187.
Some felt Ryan Bader would get a shot at Cormier next since the two were scheduled to meet on a June 6 UFC Fight Night card prior to Cormier taking his fight with Johnson on short notice. The two fighters have developed some bad blood in recent months. Bader is currently on a four-fight win streak and was involved in a confrontation with Cormier at the UFC 187 post-fight press conference.
