Tag: UFC 182

UFC Releases Official Statement on Jon Jones Drug Test Failure

The MMA world was, simply put, shaken to its core earlier this evening when news arrived that UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones had tested positive for an anabolic steroid after his UFC 214 knockout win over Daniel Cormier. The failure, which has yet to ‘officially’ lead to Jones being stripped of his newly regained […]

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The MMA world was, simply put, shaken to its core earlier this evening when news arrived that UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones had tested positive for an anabolic steroid after his UFC 214 knockout win over Daniel Cormier.

The failure, which has yet to ‘officially’ lead to Jones being stripped of his newly regained title, is an especially head-scratching one considering “Bones’” long and sordid history of outside-the-cage issues, of which many fans and media members felt he was somehow past during and after his feel-good comeback win over Cormier.

But if the CSAC test results prove true, Jones could be suspended for a very, very long time, and while there’s currently no timetable for his UFC return, his latest issue with performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) or drugs of any kind, for that matter, have once again put his otherwise legendary fight career in jeopardy, and this time more than ever.

It’s also put his employers at the UFC in a very compromising situation as well, as the promotion has given Jones countless chances and is in serious need of headliner-worthy stars, something they are set to lose with Jones now out for an indefinite amount of time.

They released an official statement on their website this evening. Read the UFC’s response it out here:

The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Jon Jones of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an in-competition sample collected following his weigh-in on July 28, 2017.

USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Jones, as it relates to the UFC Anti-Doping Policy and future UFC participation. Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full and fair legal process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed. The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) also retains jurisdiction over this matter as the sample collection was performed the day before Jones’ bout at UFC 214 in Anaheim, CA, and USADA will work to ensure that the CSAC has the necessary information to determine its proper judgment of Jones’ potential anti-doping violation.

Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.

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Jon Jones Tests Positive For Steroids At UFC 214

If you thought Jon Jones’ feel-good comeback to regain the UFC light heavyweight title was too good to be true, well, you may be right. Some shockingly disappointing news has arrived from TMZ Sports that Jones has tested positive for anabolic steroid Turinabol and has had the 205-pound title stripped from him for a second […]

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If you thought Jon Jones’ feel-good comeback to regain the UFC light heavyweight title was too good to be true, well, you may be right.

Some shockingly disappointing news has arrived from TMZ Sports that Jones has tested positive for anabolic steroid Turinabol and has had the 205-pound title stripped from him for a second time.

The all-time great champion won back the title he never lost, but rather had stripped from him for legal and drug-related issues, by knocking out former champion and arch rival Daniel Cormier in the main event of July 29’s UFC 214, regaining the title in emphatic fashion before reclaiming the top pound-for-pound spot in the UFC rankings.

But it was apparently not meant to be, as Jones could not stay out of trouble.

Of course, Jones also tested positive for banned estrogen blocker clomiphene before his scheduled UFC 200 meeting with Daniel Cormier, for which he received a one-year suspension after claiming it was due to a male sexual enhancement pill. Now, however, TMZ is reporting Jones could be banned for up to four years for his current offense.

UFC 214 took place in Anaheim, California, and California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive officer Andy Foster confirmed to MMA Fighting that Jones had indeed tested positive at the event:

“The California State Athletic Commission has been made aware of Jon Jones’ test results and is looking into the matter. The Commission takes these matters very seriously and will take any appropriate actions necessary after a thorough review of the situation. As with all fighters, Mr. Jones is entitled to due process and the Commission will work with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) to get all of the proper information.”

It’s obviously just the latest in an extremely disappointing string of outside-the-cage troubles for Jones, beginning with a DUI in 2012 and extended to much more nefarious activities like failing a pre-fight drug test for cocaine at UFC 182 and hitting a 25-year-old pregnant woman in Albuquerque only to run away and return for a handful of cash money, for which he was ultimately arrested and forced out of his scheduled UFC 187 title fight with Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.

Now, however, Jones may be on his last leg in the UFC.

Stay tuned to LowKick for more on the developing story as it arises.

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Report: Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson II In The Works For UFC 218

The light heavyweight rematch that MMA has been waiting is reportedly being targeted for a pay-per-view card later this year. According to sources obtained by Swedish MMA site MMAnytt.se, champion Jon Jones will face No. 2 Alexander Gustafsson in the main event of December 2’s UFC 218 from Detroit, Michigan. The bout, if booked, would […]

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The light heavyweight rematch that MMA has been waiting is reportedly being targeted for a pay-per-view card later this year.

According to sources obtained by Swedish MMA site MMAnytt.se, champion Jon Jones will face No. 2 Alexander Gustafsson in the main event of December 2’s UFC 218 from Detroit, Michigan.

The bout, if booked, would be a rematch of their scintillating razor-thin first match at September 2013’s UFC 165, one of two UFC bouts where one could say that “Bones” was legitimately tested (the other being his near-submission loss to Vitor Belfort which he ultimately won).

Jones of course just recently won back his long-held title from longtime rival Daniel Cormier in the main event of July 29’s UFC 214 from Anaheim, California, ending their three-year-long rivalry with a swift head kick and brutal follow-up assault in the third round. Jones beat Cormier by unanimous decision in their first fight at UFC 182, but then became embroiled in a controversial and disturbing set of legal and drug-centered trouble that saw his stripped of the belt and suspended by USADA.

Gustafsson, on the other hand, is only 3-3 in his last six bouts but has won his last two, including a jaw-dropping fifth-round stoppage of fellow former title contender Glover Teixeira on May 28. Two of those losses were split decisions to Jones and Cormier, and many MMA fans and media members still believe “The Mauler” won his first controversial fight against “Bones” four years ago.

UFC 218 will go down on December 2, 2017 from Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit, Michigan.

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WWE Edits Out Hint Brock Lesnar Could Return To UFC

Ever since UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones beat Daniel Cormier in the main event of July 29’s UFC 214, much of the talk surrounding “Bones’” next fight has been centered on his potential super fight with former UFC heavyweight and current WWE universal champion Brock Lesnar. There are certainly a number of roadblocks that […]

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Ever since UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones beat Daniel Cormier in the main event of July 29’s UFC 214, much of the talk surrounding “Bones’” next fight has been centered on his potential super fight with former UFC heavyweight and current WWE universal champion Brock Lesnar.

There are certainly a number of roadblocks that have to be surpassed in order for the fight to take place, most notably Lesnar’s currently “frozen” USADA suspension which still has six months remaining on it due to the fact he “retired” after receiving a one-year for testing positive for clomiphene before and during his UFC 200 return versus Mark Hunt last year.

But the bout still seems like more of an eventuality than merely a possibility, and something that happened last night may support that theory in whole. During Monday’s (August 14, 2017) episode of WWE Monday Night RAW, Lesnar’s manager Paul Heyman hinted he could be returning to a ‘cage’:

Heyman spoke of a so-called conspiracy theory by RAW general manager Kurt Angle to rip Lesnar’s title from him, and if that indeed transpired, Lesnar would leave the WWE to compete elsewhere (quotes from MMA Mania):

“One of two things happens this Sunday at SummerSlam,” Heyman said. “One, the conspiracy by WWE General Manager Kurt Angle is successful and they rip the Universal title off of my client Brock Lesnar. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman leave the WWE. And if that is the case I assure you that you might as well lock this beast up in a cage!”

The “Cage” could mean WWE’s Hell in a Cell match in a cage, or obviously, his UFC return. Regardless, the WWE curiously edited out Heyman’s comment when it posted the segment on their official YouTube page soon afterward:

It’s fair to wonder what are the pro-wrestling leader’s reasons for why they would do such a thing after they allowed Lesnar to compete at UFC 200 in 2016, but overall, they probably don’t want their fans believing their biggest draw is going to lose his title and then leave the promotion, so they may have wanted to nip speculation in the bud.

Lesnar’s suspension means he cannot fight in MMA until early 2018, meaning he would have a decent amount of time to still ‘compete’ for the WWE after SummerSlam this month. With his WWE contract soon running out, that could potentially keep both sides happy, but it’s clear at this point that the WWE doesn’t want too much discussion of Lesnar once again leaving for MMA.

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Daniel Cormier Says He’s ‘Missing Time’ From Moments After UFC 214 Loss

Other than a brief statement online, we haven’t seen nor heard much from former UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in the weeks following his third-round knockout loss to Jon Jones in the main event of July 29’s UFC 214 from Anaheim, California, but the decorated fighter addressed many aspects of the fight and his future […]

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Other than a brief statement online, we haven’t seen nor heard much from former UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in the weeks following his third-round knockout loss to Jon Jones in the main event of July 29’s UFC 214 from Anaheim, California, but the decorated fighter addressed many aspects of the fight and his future during an appearance today on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani.

And while he may be fighting forward with his eyes on a potential third fight against Jones, the 38-year-old Cormier also revealed some harrowing details about the moments directly after his second loss to pound-for-pound ruler ‘Bones.’

First, he said he didn’t hold any ill will towards octagon commentator Joe Rogan after Rogan took some heat for interviewing him right after he got knocked out, something he normally is against. Cormier also said referee John McCarthy gave him enough time to defend himself, but then unveiled the most concerning aspect of the loss, that he couldn’t remember the moments after he was defeated:

“I don’t hold any ill will towards him. I think he was doing his job. I don’t hold any ill will towards John McCarthy, I think John McCarthy gave me plenty of opportunities to say in this fight; I couldn’t. The Joe Rogan interview, I don’t know what happened. I still haven’t seen it, and honestly, Ariel, man I’ll be honest with you, I’m still missing time.”

Cormier apparently doesn’t remember talking to his longtime American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) associate Bob Cook, and remained unaware of what went on post-fight until he went into the back and was told he had to go to the hospital:

“Like, I don’t remember any of that. I don’t remember leaving the octagon. I don’t remember some of these photos where I was cryin’ and I was like, hugging Bob (Cook). I don’t remember any of that. I remember being in the back; I feel like I came out of a fog. I remember when I was in the back, they said, ‘You have to go to the hospital.’ I was like, ‘For what?’”

Gary A. Vasquez for USA TODAY Sports

Cormier said that all told, he was missing about 10 minutes from after the fight, something that is certainly concerning given the current climate in sports surrounding CTE in athletes who take repeated blows to the head. The legendary fighter was understandably emotional after losing the biggest fight of his life, and he had to be told about his reaction in the seconds directly following the loss:

“I’m still missing time. I’m missing probably, I don’t know, 10 minutes. I remember talking to Dana and I said, ‘I’m sorry if I pushed you.’ Because I remember they said I pushed somebody, and I was like, ‘Really?’ Obviously, I do the TV stuff so I have friends in TV and they said that as they were watching me in the octagon, they could hear the microphone on Bob Cook and I was asking questions, asking why Dana yelled at me.Then they said I was in there and kinda like tearing up and then they said I looked up at the replay, that’s when I really broke down because I guess I saw what happened. I don’t recall that.”

“Then they said I was in there and kinda like tearing up and then they said I looked up at the replay, that’s when I really broke down because I guess I saw what happened. I don’t recall that.”

But even though it’s rough to see him admit he had essentially had been in a knockout-induced stupor and couldn’t remember much, Cormier stated that his tears and emotion simply showed how much the fight meant to him, so he wouldn’t do a thing differently:

“Tears and sadness means that it means something to you, and I would do the same thing again.”

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UFC 214 PPV Buys Fall Short Of Massive Expectations

Last month’s (Sat., July 29, 2017) UFC 214 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, may have been a huge success at the box office, but it didn’t meet or exceed the massive expectations laid out for the card by UFC President Dana White. The highly awaited event, which featured a long overdue rematch between hated […]

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Last month’s (Sat., July 29, 2017) UFC 214 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, may have been a huge success at the box office, but it didn’t meet or exceed the massive expectations laid out for the card by UFC President Dana White.

The highly awaited event, which featured a long overdue rematch between hated rivals Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier in addition to two other title fights, was pumped as as ‘trending for a million pay-per-view (PPV) buys’ by White shortly after the main card, a number that was highly surprising to many given the sharp decline in overall UFC PPV sales during a tough 2017.

According to ESPN’s Darren Rovell (via MMA Mania), however, the card didn’t quite live up to that massive billing. Apparently, UFC 214 is estimated to have attracted around 850,000 buys with all digital media platforms taken into account:

So while the current estimates aren’t quite at the coveted 1 million-buy number, a figure the promotion achieved several times throughout a banner 2016 spearheaded by Conor McGregor’s rivalry with Nate Diaz and Ronda Rousey’s anticipated return, the figure is still by far the best PPV buyrate of a year where numbered events are getting all-time lows in terms of buys, a concerning circumstance that came true only recently at July’s previous PPV of UFC 213.

The near-million PPV buyrate for UFC 214 shows that Jones can still headline a big PPV show to great numbers, and while his rivalry with Cormier was one that needed closure for over two years, future fights involving the top-ranked pound-for-pound king should sell comparably well, with his rumored super fight versus Brock Lesnar destined to outsell it in droves if it does happen.

The million-buy barrier has yet to be crossed by the UFC in 2017, but if any indications are true, they could be stacking the deck to do just that with November 4’s UFC 217 from Madison Square Garden in New York, an event rumored to be headlined by former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre’s return.

Lesnar isn’t expected to be able to fight until early 2018 at the earliest, so perhaps the also awaited rematch between Jones and Alexander Gustafsson could help push UFC 217’s numbers into the million-buy stratosphere.

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