This article was originally written on Wednesday night, and my opening spoke about how Saturday night was poised to be not only the biggest night in UFC history, but also the biggest night in MMA history. The article was completed, and set for final revision and release Thursday morning.
Then I woke up Thursday morning, and saw the news about Jon Jones.
In case you’ve not heard, Jon Jones has been removed from UFC 200 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. While UFC president Dana White indicated that a new opponent for Cormier hasn’t been ruled out, it’s safe to say there is no opponent readily available whose close to the stature of Jon Jones. This is a massive blow to both Saturday’s event and UFC itself, as it continues to magnify one of the biggest problems the sport has: the inability to guarantee health and behavior before a fight, leading to weeks and months of hype and publicity being wasted when a fighter suddenly cannot compete. It also raises larger questions about Jon Jones’ future with UFC, as Dana White mentioned that Jones may be facing a possible two-year ban for this failed test, and Jones has certainly had his share of issues leading up to this.
Now, while this news certainly hurts Saturday’s event, it doesn’t ruin it completely. One benefit of being the most stacked fight card in history is that even after removing the biggest fight on the card, there are still three other main event caliber fights, and the card remains stacked all the way through. Fight fans should still be excited for UFC 200, even while being disappointed in Jon Jones. So, getting to the most important question about Saturday’s huge event, whose gonna win?
Click through the slide show for analysis and predictions on EVERY fight coming up this Saturday night, and let your opinions be heard in the comments section below, as well as on social media!
