Daniel Cormier Drops to Light Heavyweight, Faces Rashad Evans in UFC 170 Headliner

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Daniel Cormier’s 205-pound debut will come against former divisional ruler Rashad Evans, as UFC officials announced Friday that the light heavyweights will lock horns in the main event of UFC 170.

The five-round headliner takes place Feb. 22 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and airs live on pay-per-view. Jon Jones was initially expected to headline the event opposite Glover Teixeira, but that booking was shifted to UFC 171 to give “Bones” more time to heal lingering injuries.

A two-time Olympic qualifier, Cormier has never been defeated as a mixed martial artist, scoring 13 straight wins to begin his career as a heavyweight. The American Kickboxing Academy standout made his UFC debut earlier this year after a five-fight Strikeforce stint, earning unanimous decision wins over Roy Nelson and Frank Mir to kick off his Octagon run.

Evans, meanwhile, returned to his winning ways this summer after suffering back-to-back defeats for the first time, rebounding from an upset loss at the hands of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira to edge Dan Henderson in June before dominating Chael Sonnen last month at UFC 167.