We can’t believe this! Jon Jones, 28, has been kicked off his UFC 200 fight against Daniel Cormier, 37. On July 6 it was revealed that the controversial fighter had violated the organization’s anti-doping policy, thus losing his opportunity to take back the title he lost after his 2015 hit-and-run arrest. Here’s what we know so far!
“The UFC organization was notified tonight that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Jon Jones of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection on June 16, 2016,” the organization shared on their website on July 6. All fighters get the opportunity to have a full legal review before sanctions are imposed, but the proximity to the huge fight made moving forward with it impossible.
‘Because Jones was scheduled to compete against Daniel Cormier this coming Saturday, July 9 in Las Vegas, there is insufficient time for a full review before the scheduled bout and therefore the fight has been removed from the fight card. As a result, the three-round heavyweight bout between Brock Lesnar and Mark Hunt will become the UFC 200 main event.” Wow.
In a press conference on July 6, President Dana White said “Obviously he’s very disappointed. He’s upset. He wanted to go down as one of the greats, or the greatest ever.” Earlier the same day, Jon had gushed to ESPN about how excited he was for the match. This was his shot to win back the title he lost when he was arrested after a hit and run (and suspended for 18 months), so we can only imagine how upset he is now.
“I feel like the stars are finally aligning and I’m doing what I was meant to be doing,” Jon told ESPN.com just before he learned of the violation. “The fans know I never lost the title. I’ve been dreaming about this day and waiting for this day to fight D.C. for my belt back for a long time. At the end of the day, when I win this fight, it’s going to erase him from the books as a legit champion.
People are going to know he was only the champ because Jon Jones was out of the game. He won’t be considered a real champion without a victory over me, and that’s motivating and inspiring. I want this era to be mine. I don’t want to share it with anyone.” Yikes.
Reader, what do you think of Jon’s fight getting cancelled? Share your thoughts with us!
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