Win or lose, Daniel Cormier headed to light heavyweight after UFC 166

Largely to avoid a potential fight with teammate and UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez – but also because he wants to hold a title of his own – Daniel Cormier said he’s committed to a move down to light heavyweight following next weekend’s UFC 166 event.

Cormier (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), an Olympian and undefeated heavyweight, meets Roy Nelson (19-8 MMA, 6-4 UFC) at Houston’s Toyota Center. But after the Oct. 19 pay-per-view co-headliner, the already-slimmed-down fighter said his next bout will be at 205 pounds.

“This is going to be my last fight at heavyweight,” Cormier said on Friday’s edition of “Inside MMA” on AXS TV. “I wanted to start to diet and mover closer to the weight division where I was comfortable making the weight. I feel like I’m in that place now.”

Cormier, the head wrestling instructor at American Kickboxing Academy, has a busy night next weekend. After his own fight, he plans to do the customary post-fight medical check and interviews and then rush cageside for the night’s headliner between Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos. Velasquez (12-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC), Cormier’s teammate and primary training partner at AKA, looks for his second straight win over dos Santos (16-2 MMA, 10-1 UFC) as they meet in a rubber match.

Should Cormier, a former Strikeforce heavyweight tournament champion, defeat Nelson, he’d be a worthy title challenger in his current weight class. But both Velasquez and Cormier, who’s made a gradual cut because of past weight-cutting issues, have made no secret of their desire to avoid each other in the cage.

That’s a big reason for Cormier’s planned moved to light heavyweight, where he’s got a number of potential intriguing matchups, including one with current titleholder and pound-for-pound kingpin Jon Jones.

“It does have a lot to do with me not wanting to fight Cain Velasquez, but I also want to be a champion of the UFC, and if I’m not going to fight for the belt at heavyweight, then I’ve got to find a division where I can compete for the championship,” he said.

For more on UFC 166, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.