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Daniel Cormier’s MMA title defense versus Jon Jones was to serve as the main event at the upcoming UFC 197, but the former was forced to withdraw last weekend due to injury. The reigning UFC Light Heavyweight Champion posted the following apology to Instagram for having to miss the fight:

The decision to not fight on April 23rd was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make. I’ve been scheduled to fight 18 times and I have made that walk every time. I want to apologize to Jon Jones, Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White and all of the UFC fans for not being able to defend my title. This truly saddens me, but as with everything else in life, it goes on. The recovery should not take very long and I can’t wait to compete and defend my title again. For all the fans, thanks for your support, I appreciate each and every one of you.

THEM’S FIGHTIN’ WORDS

A photo posted by ufc (@ufc) on

Cormier and Jones have a storied history of freely expressing their animosity toward one another — from refusing to face each other at a photo op, to mixing it up at a pre-fight media event, and everything in between.

The presser for UFC Undisputed was no exception. Despite Jones claim to have turned over a new leaf during his suspension from the sport, the two lived down to expectations.

JONES VS CORMIER: TWITTER FIGHT

When Cormier offered to train his replacement, Ovince Saint Preux, for the fight, Jones called Cormier a “coward” and a multi-round Twitter exchange followed.