In a shocking turn of events, Jon Jones has been removed from the UFC 200 card.
Jones, who was scheduled to face Daniel Cormier in the main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, was pulled Wednesday night due to a potential violation in a USADA drug test administered on June 16.
Due to this, the returning Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Hunt will be the main event of the show, with Frankie Edgar vs. Jose Aldo becoming the semi-main event. UFC president Dana White indicated that a new opponent for Cormier hasn’t been ruled out.
UPDATE:
Here is a statement that has been released by the UFC:
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.
USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case. It is important to note that, under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full fair legal review process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed.
However, 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.
Consistent with all previous potential anti-doping violations, additional information or UFC statements will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.
Ticket refunds available upon request at primary point of purchase.
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