This was supposed to be the biggest week in UFC history. International fight week, culminating in the biggest pay per view event of all-time, UFC 200. Now, less than 72 hours out from the big show, the event has lost its main event. Interim light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has been pulled from the card due to a potential positive drug test. The USADA says that Jones failed a test on June 16, 2016; and while they have not had time to confirm the positive test, they are pulling him from the event. If he did take some form of performance enhancing drug, Jones could face a two-year ban from fighting.
Jon Jones Out of UFC 200
Jon Jones is out of UFC 200, per Jeff Novitzky. He has been flagged by USADA stemming from a test on 6/16.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 7, 2016
Jones tested positive for cocaine before his first fight with Daniel Cormier at UFC 182 in January 2015. He would later get in trouble with the law following a hit and run accident in 2015, and was suspended for much of the year. He returned to the octagon earlier this year in a fight with Ovince Saint-Preux.
With so little time before the fight, the UFC will not be replacing the Jones versus Cormier fight. Instead, the semi main event of Brock Lesnar against Mark Hunt becomes the main event. Daniel Cormier will continue on as the Light Heavyweight Champion. Also on the card are title fights between Miesha Tate and Amanda Nunes, for the UFC women’s bantamweight title, as well as a fight between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar for the interim UFC feather weight belt.
Main Photo: LAS VEGAS, NV – JANUARY 03: Light heavyweight champion Jon Jones waits in a time-out as he defends his title against Daniel Cormier during the UFC 182 event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on January 3, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jones retained his title by unanimous decision. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
