Now that the big Daniel Cormier–Jon Jones light heavyweight title bout has been rescheduled for UFC 182 on Jan. 3, the Nevada Athletic Commission has plenty of time to review the pre-fight brawl that went down on Aug. 4 in the MGM Grand lobby.
It looks like the incident will be addressed at the next NAC hearing, which is set to take place next Tuesday, Sept. 23 in Las Vegas, Nevada. And according to UFC Tonight’s Ariel Helwani, the NAC has asked both fighters to appear before the commission panel, if at all possible. Cormier, who was working as an analyst on Wednesday’s episode of UFC Tonight, said the NAC could expect to see him in attendance.
“I know I got the mail, I signed for it, I tried to give it back, but they would not accept it,” Cormier joked. “So I guess I will be there next Tuesday night.
Though there’s been a history of pre-fight incidents during press conferences in boxing, it’s relatively new territory for high profile UFC fighters. On Aug. 4, while attending the kickoff press conference for UFC 178 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Cormier and Jones got into a brawl during the stare-down. Jones, who normally averts his eyes during the square off, came right up to Cormier and put his forehead into the challenger, which then incited Cormier to shove him. That kicked off a melee that crashed through the backdrop and spilled over the side of the stage. Jones could be seen lunging forward with a punch. Later, Cormier threw a show.
No injuries came of the brawl, which took place while UFC president Dana White was vacationing. Just days after it happened, though, Jones injured his leg in training, which forced the UFC to reschedule the main event for Jan. 3 in Las Vegas.