It looks like Daniel Cormier's weigh-in shenanigans at UFC 210 may end up costing him after all.
Fans and the media were perplexed on Friday morning when Cormier missed weight by 1.2 pounds for his light heavyweight title fight against Anthony Johnson. Two and a half minutes later, Cormier weighed in again and somehow made weight this time. What exactly did Cormier do in those 160 seconds to shed that weight? People not only questioned whether NYSAC was fudging the reading, but whether Cormier cheated as well by leaning on the towel with both hands (a time-tested trick in amateur wrestling circles).
Whatever went down, it seemed like nothing would ever come of the so-called “TowelGate.” But now Anthony Johnson's manager Ali Abdelaziz has announced that he will be filing an appeal with NYSAC on behalf of the mixed martial artist formerly known as "Rumble" ... and he won't allow the situation to be ignored.
"Anthony's rights were violated," Abdelaziz told ESPN.com. "We will go through the proper legal channels to fix this. Everybody saw what happened. How do you lose 1.2 pounds in two minutes?"
...
"We don't want to take anything away from [Cormier]. He earned that win," Abdelaziz said. "But [Cormier] needs to give up 20 percent of his purse to Anthony. He had two extra hours to cut the weight and I think he probably would have made it -- but as it happened, I don't think he made weight."
But, can't NYSAC just deny the appeal arbitrarily, like it did Holly Holm's appeal after a series of shots after the bell potentially cost her the women's Featherweight title at UFC 208? According to Ali, he's willing to sue NYSAC to press the point.
"Whatever it takes. I understand New York is new to regulating mixed martial arts, but they've been doing boxing for a long time," he said. "Everybody is trying to sweep this under the rug, but it's not going to happen."
What do you think Maniacs? Are you glad Abdelaziz is going after this or does this come across as a cash grab rather than seeking justice? Here’s what Joe Rogan’s bud Joey Diaz thinks:
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