UFC boss says Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson headlines UFC 206

While the contest has been set for a week, Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson has now been established as the headliner for UFC 206.

The bout’s status wasn’t established when the fight was first revealed, but UFC President Dana White confirmed on today’s new edition of FS1’s “UFC Tonight” that it will be the main event of UFC 206.

White revealed the news when Cormier, who was hosting the show, asked White why UFC.com still showed another matchup of opponents yet to be revealed above him on the lineup.

“Yeah, you’re the main event,” White said. “There shouldn’t be a TBD above you.”

UFC 206 takes place Dec. 10 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass. The bout order is still to be determined.

Cormier submitted Johnson when they first fought at UFC 187 in May 2015 to claim the belt that was vacated by former champ Jon Jones, who now is the interim champ – but who has been embroiled in the throes of a pre-fight drug test failure ahead of UFC 200 in July and is awaiting potential punishment from the Nevada State Athletic Commission. After that, Cormier beat Alexander Gustafsson by split decision at UFC 192 a year ago.

Cormier was supposed to fight Jones for the unified title at UFC 200 until Jones was pulled three days before the fight when news of his failed drug test broke. Instead, he fought former middleweight champion Anderson Silva on short notice and won a unanimous decision against the future UFC Hall of Famer.

Johnson has been on a tear since his loss to Cormier. He has three straight knockouts, all of which won “Performance of the Night” bonuses. He stopped Jimi Manuwa 13 months ago in the second round at UFC 191. In the UFC on FOX 18 main event in January, he knocked out Ryan Bader in the first round. And at UFC 202 in August, he took out fellow former title challenger Glover Teixeira in just 13 seconds.

The latest UFC 206 lineup includes:

• Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson
• Poliana Botelho vs. Valerie Letourneau
• Zach Makovsky vs. John Moraga
• John Makdessi vs. Lando Vannata
• Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Drew Dober
• Rustam Khabilov vs. Jason Saggo
• Misha Cirkunov vs. Nikita Krylov

For more on UFC 206, check out the UFC Rumors section of the card.