ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Former UFC champion Jon “Bones” Jones will not be in the Octagon as scheduled for Saturday’s fight against Daniel Cormier.
The news came down late Wednesday night. UFC President Dana White announced at a news conference that Jones is out of this weekend’s fight due to a potential doping violation.
Jones was set to fight Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier. Now the fight scheduled for Saturday, will not take place.
Wednesday night, Cormier expressed his disappointment.
“I’ve put myself in a position to win this fight so to hear something like this, it’s very sad from a competitive standpoint. From a financial standpoint there are a number of ways in which this is disappointing,” said Cormier.
UFC Officials say the potential violation came from a June 16th test the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency administered. They say Jones apparently tested positive for a banned substance.
Officials have not said what the substance was.
Jones is serving 120 hours of community service — including the additional time a judge tacked on after Jones violated his probation — after leaving the scene of a crash in April 2015.
A judge gave Jones an extension until August 5th to wrap it up.
In the meantime, Dana White says he’s still hoping to get another opponent for Cormier on Saturday.
“It stings real bad for Daniel Cormier. This is devastating to him. His family and I’d like to make a fight if I can,” said White.
Eventually, the UFC says Jones will have the chance to be re-tested, but officials say that rarely changes the result.
White also stressed during his news conference that Jones is innocent until proven guilty.
No word on if the potential doping violation will affect his extension or community service hours.
To read more and watch Jones’ response, click here.
