It practically sounds like joke. If nothing else, it’s certainly surreal. But, reports are in that the UFC light heavyweight title fight crowning their massive UFC 200 PPV event has been cancelled following the news that Jon Jones failed an out of competition drug test. MMA Fighting was on the scene and reported the news via Twitter:
Jeff Novitzky says Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier is off. Jones failed an out-of-competition drug test.
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) July 7, 2016
Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Hunt is the new main event for UFC 200.
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) July 7, 2016
White says he does not know what substance Jones tested positive for.
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) July 7, 2016
White said someone could pop up and want to fight Cormier on short notice.
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) July 7, 2016
Word is that an out-of-competition test, taken on June 16th is what’s resulted in the last minute fight change. It seems nearly impossible that the UFC could find a fighter to take on Cormier on just 3 days notice, but with one of the biggest potential PPVs of the year at stake, there’s a chance the UFC could get someone looking for a chance at fortune.
Fighting also reported that Dana White was apparently eating dinner when he got the news of the fight cancellation, so by all accounts it seems that the UFC was just as blindsided by this news as anyone else. Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow as we’ll be sure to keep you updated with more details as they become available.
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