UPDATEx2: Jon Jones Notified of Potential Doping Violation, Out of UFC 200 – UFC Releases Statement

UPDATE 2: Here is a portion of the press conference with Jones’ violation being announced, per Fancy MMA:

UPDATE: The UFC has released its official statement on Jon Jones’ potential doping violation, which you can see below. During the press conference announcing the news, Dana White said, “When you have the biggest, baddest fight card ever assembled, it doesn’t sting as bad if you lose a fight – but it stings real bad for Daniel Cormier. This is the way it should be. We have the best program in all of sports. This is the way it should be. … I kept going, ‘Everything is going so smooth,’ and nobody had been hurt. Everyone was healthy. So this was a pretty brutal phone call.”

White noted that they’re looking for a fight for Cormier on incredibly short notice but that it will be tough. Toward the end of the conference he noted that he was getting texts from UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, who said that he was getting contacted by guys who wanted to take Jones’ place.

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.

ORIGINAL: Jon Jones will not unify the UFC light heavyweight title against Daniel Cormier at UFC 200 this weekend. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reports that Jones, who was scheduled to face Cormier in the main event of the show, has been notified of a potential doping violation by the USADA and is off the card. FOX Sports has also reported the news. The nature of the violation is not yet known.

The UFC has yet to comment on the Jones news, although they did note on their Twitter account that Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Hunt will now serve as the main event of the show. UFC 200 takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada this Saturday with the main event airing on PPV.

USADA has informed Jon Jones of a potential doping violation. He is off UFC 200.

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 7, 2016

Jones will have full appeal process obviously, but he's off UFC 200. Potential violation unknown at this time. Dana White just found out.

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 7, 2016

UFC was notified that USADA has flagged Jon Jones for a potential anti-doping policy violation.

— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) July 7, 2016

The main event for UFC 200 is Brock Lesnar vs Mark Hunt. pic.twitter.com/RQU5ZcBRl9

— #UFCFightWeek (@ufc) July 7, 2016