The curious case of Jon Jones returned late Wednesday night, as UFC officials removed the interim light heavyweight champion from the UFC 200 main event role.
Jones and the UFC were notified of a possible anti-doping violation stemming from an out-of-competition drug test that “Bones” took on June 16.
While Jones and his legal team have the right to order a review of the case, due to his scheduled fight on Saturday night, officials were forced to remove him from the card. The UFC continues to work to find a replacement that will allow light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier to compete.
Below is the complete statement from 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.
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