Jon Jones stripped (again), Daniel Cormier reinstated as UFC light heavyweight champion

On the heels of the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) overturning Jon Jones’ UFC 214 win vs. Daniel Cormier to a no contest, the UFC has made the decision to reinstate Cormier as the light heavyweight champion. Cormier announced the news himself on FS1’s UFC Tonight on Wednesday.

“[Jones] disqualified himself by taking the steroid before the fight,” Cormier said. “so it didn’t happen. Now I get the belt back, which is the right thing to do. I’m not only saying that because it’s me. It’s the right thing to do. You don’t cheat the sport, you don’t cheat the fans, you don’t cheat me. You have all the physical advantages, sir. You’re 30 years old, you’re 6’4”, you’ve got an 85” reach. I’m 38 years old! I would love to take stuff and wake up every morning and not have to walk down my stairs sideways and just get back to training. It’s an unfortunate situation. We had one of the biggest fights of the year, and once again this guy has made a mockery of the sport. “

Jones’ “B” sample came back positive for the banned substance turinabol. His “A” sample was taken after the UFC 214 weigh-ins, therefore making it an in-competition USADA drug test. Jon faces a potential four-year ban for his second anti-doping offense, and it’s possible that while CSAC overturned the Cormier fight to a no contest, the UFC may give Jones a disqualification loss, per USADA guidelines. The Brazilian commission (CABMMA) did disqualify Gleison Tibau against Abel Trujillo after Tibau failed for EPO. Either way, Jones’ win is stricken from the record books.

This is the third time that Jones has been stripped of a title. The first instance came in 2015 following his arrest for a hit-and-run collision in New Mexico, and that provided Cormier the opportunity to win the vacant belt against Anthony Johnson. After winning the interim title against Ovince Saint Preux at UFC 197, Jones was stripped when he failed his pre-fight drug test for the scheduled UFC 200 rematch with Cormier.