Daniel Cormier Medically Suspended for 45 Days After UFC 210 Win

Daniel Cormier received a medical suspension of at least 45 days following his victory over Anthony Johnson at UFC 210 last Saturday, MMAjunkie reported Tuesday.
Cormier submitted Johnson in the second round to run his professional record to 19-1.
The&…

Daniel Cormier received a medical suspension of at least 45 days following his victory over Anthony Johnson at UFC 210 last Saturday, MMAjunkie reported Tuesday.

Cormier submitted Johnson in the second round to run his professional record to 19-1.

The New York State Athletic Commission also suspended Johnson for 30 days, which may not matter since the 33-year-old retired after losing to Cormier.

When Cormier is eligible to return to the Octagon, a potential rematch with Jon Jones looms. As FloCombat’s Duane Finley tweeted, UFC doesn’t exactly have a wealth of marquee opponents for the current light heavyweight champion:

Jones was in attendance at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York, to see Cormier beat Johnson firsthand.

Jones is serving a yearlong suspension for a failed drug test prior to his bout with Cormier at UFC 200. The punishment is in effect through July 6.

If you’re in class and you get suspended, you don’t get to compete,” Cormier said of his rival, per Sherdog’s Tristen Critchfield. “Until [Jones] gets his academics in order, he can’t talk to me about a fight. When he’s eligible, then we can talk about a fight.”

 

For more news, rumors and related stories about Daniel Cormier and the UFC, check out the UFC stream on Bleacher Report’s app.

 

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Dana White Says Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor Fight Will Happen

UFC President Dana White went on the record expressing optimism that the megafight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather will likely be finalized at some point.
Speaking at UFC 210 Saturday, White said he plans to meet with McGregor to work out s…

UFC President Dana White went on the record expressing optimism that the megafight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather will likely be finalized at some point.

Speaking at UFC 210 Saturday, White said he plans to meet with McGregor to work out some of the details, per MMAjunkie’s Mike Bohn:

I see this fight happening. Conor wants it, and Floyd wants it. I’ve said many times Conor has done a lot. He’s stepped up for big fights for this company, and for me and for [former UFC CEO] Lorenzo [Fertitta]. I can’t deny him this fight. … Conor is having a baby any day now, and after Conor has his baby, Conor and I are going to meet in New York.

White added preliminary discussions about the fight are underway.

 

For more news, rumors and related stories about Conor McGregor and the UFC, check out the UFC stream on Bleacher Report’s app.

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Dana White Says Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor Fight Will Happen

UFC President Dana White went on the record expressing optimism that the megafight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather will likely be finalized at some point.
Speaking at UFC 210 Saturday, White said he plans to meet with McGregor to work out s…

UFC President Dana White went on the record expressing optimism that the megafight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather will likely be finalized at some point.

Speaking at UFC 210 Saturday, White said he plans to meet with McGregor to work out some of the details, per MMAjunkie’s Mike Bohn:

I see this fight happening. Conor wants it, and Floyd wants it. I’ve said many times Conor has done a lot. He’s stepped up for big fights for this company, and for me and for [former UFC CEO] Lorenzo [Fertitta]. I can’t deny him this fight. … Conor is having a baby any day now, and after Conor has his baby, Conor and I are going to meet in New York.

White added preliminary discussions about the fight are underway.

 

For more news, rumors and related stories about Conor McGregor and the UFC, check out the UFC stream on Bleacher Report’s app.

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Jon ‘War Machine’ Koppenhaver Guilty of 29 Charges, Mistrial on Attempted Murder

Former mixed martial arts fighter War Machine, born Jon Koppenhaver, was found guilty of 29 counts by a Las Vegas jury stemming from the assault of adult film star Christy Mack, Analise Ortiz of KTNV in Las Vegas reported.
The jury was unable to r…

Former mixed martial arts fighter War Machine, born Jon Koppenhaver, was found guilty of 29 counts by a Las Vegas jury stemming from the assault of adult film star Christy Mack, Analise Ortiz of KTNV in Las Vegas reported.

The jury was unable to reach a verdict on charges of attempted murder and attempted murder with a deadly weapon.

According to Antonio Castelan of KSNV, Koppenhaver will be sentenced June 5.

Last Friday, Fox 5’s Adam Herbets shared the list of 34 charges Koppenhaver faced:

Castelan and Faith Jessie reported the jury found him not guilty on charges of “burglary with use of a deadly weapon, sexually motivated coercion, battery with intent to commit sexual assault, and sexual assault with use of a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm.”

The Las Vegas Review-Journal‘s Michael Quine shared video of the jury reaching their verdicts:

Jacqueline Bluth, the Clark County chief deputy district attorney, said the 35-year-old could potentially receive a life sentence without the possibility of parole at his sentencing hearing, per Herbets.

Mack, whose real name is Christine Mackinday, testified March 8 about the incident. She told jurors of the abuse at the hands of Koppenhaver had occurred over a period of months and on the night of the assault she “genuinely felt [she] was going to die,” per David Ferrara of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Jane McManus of espnW.com wrote Mackinday suffered 18 broken bones, including a fractured rib and broken nose. She also had a ruptured liver that prevented doctors from initially operating on her for fear of putting her under anesthesia.

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Brock Lesnar Informs UFC of Retirement from MMA, Removed from Drug Testing Pool

Brock Lesnar’s mixed martial arts career appears to be over.
A UFC spokesperson on Tuesday told MMA Fighting’s Marc Raimondi the former UFC heavyweight champion informed the company of his retirement.
      
More to follow.Read…

Brock Lesnar‘s mixed martial arts career appears to be over.

A UFC spokesperson on Tuesday told MMA Fighting’s Marc Raimondi the former UFC heavyweight champion informed the company of his retirement.

      

More to follow.

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Jon Jones Likely to Face Daniel Cormier-Anthony Johnson Winner, Says Dana White

Jon Jones may have a nice gift waiting for him when he comes back from his yearlong suspension: a UFC light heavyweight championship fight.
In an interview on the UFC Unfiltered podcast (h/t FoxSports.com’s Damon Martin), UFC President Dana White said …

Jon Jones may have a nice gift waiting for him when he comes back from his yearlong suspension: a UFC light heavyweight championship fight.

In an interview on the UFC Unfiltered podcast (h/t FoxSports.com’s Damon Martin), UFC President Dana White said he expects Jones to face off against the winner of Daniel Cormier’s title defense against Anthony Johnson at UFC 210 on April 8.

“[Jones] is supposed to return around July, so the timing is perfect,” White said. “I haven’t talked to him. I haven’t talked to [Jones] since the whole incident. Depending on where Jon’s head is and where he thinks he is, I would assume he would come right back and try to get his title back.”

In November, the United States Anti-Doping Agency suspended Jones for one year after he tested positive for banned substances. Two estrogen blockers showed up on an out-of-competition drug test from Jones last June.

His suspension began retroactive to July 6, 2016, so he’d be eligible to return to the Octagon this summer.

Jones was set to fight Cormier at UFC 200 on July 9, but UFC removed him from the card following USADA’s notification of his failed drug test. UFC cameras captured the moment White told Cormier of Jones’ infraction (Note: Sequence begins at the 4:13 mark of the video below, and the video contains NSFW language):

Anderson Silva replaced Jones on the card, and Cormier earned a unanimous decision.

White’s stance on Jones appears to have softened in recent months. He told TMZ Sports in November that he wasn’t speaking to the former lightweight champion. Shortly thereafter, he said on the Jim Rome Show (via Martin) that he couldn’t envision Jones in the main event of a pay-per-view anytime soon.

I would never take the risk of headlining a show with [Jones] again,” White said. “I’d put him on the card, but I wouldn’t headline with him until he can consistently get back on track.”

A rematch between Cormier and Jones in particular would put White’s resolve to the test. Even with Jones out of action for over a year—his last fight was against Ovince Saint Preux last April—fans would be clamoring to see him and Cormier finally face off again.

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