Interim UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has been removed from Saturday’s UFC 200 due to a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition drug test from last month.
UFC President Dana White made the announcement on late Thursday evening in Las Vegas during a press conference and the new main event of UFC 200 will be the heavyweight bout between former UFC champion Brock Lesnar and Mark Hunt.
Following the press conference, the UFC issued a statement on the potential Anti-Doping Policy violation of Jones.
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.
The complete press conference announcing Jones being removed from UFC 200 is below.