Tag: UFC 182

Jon Jones Tests Positive for Cocaine (!!), Will Enter Drug Treatment Program


(“Yeah, I thought I had a great..uh…fight and, uh…hey, does anyone want one of these cheeseburgers?” Photo via Getty.)

Yes, you read that headline correctly. Just days after cementing his G.O.A.T status via a dominant five-round decision over rival Daniel Cormier at UFC 182, Jon Jones has announced that he will be entering a drug treatment facility.

Why? Because, and you’re going to find this hilarious if we know your sense of humor, he actually tested positive for benzoylecgonine, the main metabolite in cocaine, in a random drug test administered by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on December 4th.

Jones released a statement to Yahoo Sports earlier this evening, which can be found below.

With the support of my family, I have entered into a drug treatment facility. I want to apologize to my fiancée, my children, as well as my mother, father, and brothers for the mistake that I made. I also want to apologize to the UFC, my coaches, my sponsors and equally important to my fans. I am taking this treatment program very seriously. Therefore, at this time my family and I would appreciate privacy.

Now, you’re probably asking yourself things like, “What’s Jones’ punishment going to be?” and “Did the NSAC know that his test result was positive prior to UFC 182?” The answers are actually quite simple…


(“Yeah, I thought I had a great..uh…fight and, uh…hey, does anyone want one of these cheeseburgers?” Photo via Getty.)

Yes, you read that headline correctly. Just days after cementing his G.O.A.T status via a dominant five-round decision over rival Daniel Cormier at UFC 182, Jon Jones has announced that he will be entering a drug treatment facility.

Why? Because, and you’re going to find this hilarious if we know your sense of humor, he actually tested positive for benzoylecgonine, the main metabolite in cocaine, in a random drug test administered by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on December 4th.

Jones released a statement to Yahoo Sports earlier this evening, which can be found below.

With the support of my family, I have entered into a drug treatment facility. I want to apologize to my fiancée, my children, as well as my mother, father, and brothers for the mistake that I made. I also want to apologize to the UFC, my coaches, my sponsors and equally important to my fans. I am taking this treatment program very seriously. Therefore, at this time my family and I would appreciate privacy.

Now, you’re probably asking yourself things like, “What’s Jones’ punishment going to be?” and “Did the NSAC know that his test result was positive prior to UFC 182?” The answers are actually quite simple: 1) Nothing and 2) Yes, they did, but because benzoylecgonine is not banned out-of-competition, the commission was unable to penalize Jones or prevent him from fighting despite knowing of the positive test.

They did, however, choose to remain silent on the issue until now, which seems like complete and utter bullshit at first, but then again, it was also a decision that will give us plenty to talk about on a non-fight week. So, thanks for that, I guess?

It should be mentioned that Jones passed a follow-up test conducted later in December.

So much to unpack. Why is a month out from the biggest fight of your career not considered “in-competition”? Why is marijuana banned out of competition but not cocaine? Should the UFC have cancelled Jones-Cormier (no). Isn’t it strange that this news comes just days after the UFC announced an end to in-house, out-of competition drug testing? Is Jon Jones going up the rails on a crazy train?

We’ll have more on this breaking news as information is made available.

–J. Jones

VIDEO: CagePotato Breaks Down UFC 182?s Jones vs. Cormier Fight on TYT Sports

(Props: TYTSports on YouTube)

We have no idea why they keep inviting us do this, but once again, the good folks at TYT Sports had CagePotato’s founding editor Ben Goldstein on their show today to discuss Jon Jones‘s dominant decision win against Daniel Cormier at UFC 182, as well as Jones’s now-complete transformation into a super-heel. There aren’t many controversial things you can say about the greatest fighter in the world winning a fight, but we always have a good time hanging with the TYT crew. Check out our conversation above, and stay tuned for videos about what’s next for Jones and Cormier, and the prospect of Conor McGregor fighting Jose Aldo in an Irish soccer stadium. (Assuming he beats Dennis Siver.) (Which he will.)


(Props: TYTSports on YouTube)

We have no idea why they keep inviting us do this, but once again, the good folks at TYT Sports had CagePotato’s founding editor Ben Goldstein on their show today to discuss Jon Jones‘s dominant decision win against Daniel Cormier at UFC 182, as well as Jones’s now-complete transformation into a super-heel. There aren’t many controversial things you can say about the greatest fighter in the world winning a fight, but we always have a good time hanging with the TYT crew. Check out our conversation above, and stay tuned for videos about what’s next for Jones and Cormier, and the prospect of Conor McGregor fighting Jose Aldo in an Irish soccer stadium. (Assuming he beats Dennis Siver.) (Which he will.)

Dana White: UFC 182 Ref Herb Dean Did a ‘Horrible Job’ in Jones vs. Cormier

Herb Dean is still UFC President Dana White’s favorite referee, despite a “horrible effort” in the fifth round of the epic light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier at UFC 182.
“Herb Dean, I always talk …

Herb Dean is still UFC President Dana White’s favorite referee, despite a “horrible effort” in the fifth round of the epic light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier at UFC 182.

“Herb Dean, I always talk about him; I think he’s my favorite referee. He did a horrible job in the fifth round,” White said in a post-fight interview on FOX. “He let them clinch, literally for five minutes, but other than that, it was an amazing fight.”

With all of the pre-fight trash talk, it was surprising to see the Jones and Cormier bout actually live up to the hype. Past high-profile bouts in the UFC with excessive pre-fight talk have generally ended in either a lackluster or lopsided showing.

Fans endured months of hype for Rashad Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson only to watch both men stall out in the clinch for 15 minutes. There was plenty of bad blood heading into the 2012 fight between Evans and Jones, former teammates at Greg Jackson’s MMA.

However, the actual fight was so one-sided that UFC matchmaker Joe Silva could have started the search for Evans’ next contender by the third round. Jones and Cormier managed to live up to the hype after taking fans on a wild journey of intense verbal exchanges on ESPN and a media brawl.

After a four-round clinch battle, both fighters were absolutely spent and exhausted in the final round. However, Jones appeared to be the fresher fighter, as he was able to outland Cormier in critical moments to solidify a decision victory.

A little bit of separation would have been nice in the fifth round, but Dean seemed content in allowing the fight to continue to play out in the same area the brunt of it was fought.

If anything, we should be congratulating Dean for his adamantium chin displayed after taking an accidental punch from Cormier at the end of the final bell.

 

Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Fanrag Sports.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 182: Did Jones vs. Cormier Live Up to Hype?

The monumentally hyped light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier was every bit as gritty and exciting as advertised.
Thousands of fans piled into the sold-out MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Saturday night for UFC 182, whic…

The monumentally hyped light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier was every bit as gritty and exciting as advertised.

Thousands of fans piled into the sold-out MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Saturday night for UFC 182, which featured arguably the biggest grudge match in UFC history. Months of excessive trash talk and an unexpected media brawl cemented the light heavyweight tilt’s blockbuster status.

History has shown that bouts enveloped in grandiose pre-fight drama typically end up being pay-per-view duds. There was some concern that Jones and Cormier could turn into a snoozer.

Even UFC President Dana White expected more of a feeling-out process early in the fight.

“Well, they talked all this trash and everything that led up to it,” White told journalist Ariel Helwani in an interview on Fox. “I thought there was going to be a big feeling-out process in the first round. It’s a five-round title fight, it means everything. They went at it from the first bell to the fourth bell.”

Jones came out early in the fight and set the tone with a takedown on Cormier, a former Olympic wrestler. Cormier responded in the next couple of rounds by closing the distance and roughing Jones up in the clinch with short hooks and uppercuts.

The tide began to turn in the fourth round as Cormier slowly began to fade from a tireless work rate along with multiple kicks and knees to the body. Both men were on autopilot by the time the fifth round started, but Jones was clearly the fresher fighter. He flipped the script on Cormier by closing the distance and busting the much shorter contender up with knees to the body and dirty boxing.

Twitter lit up with excitement from other UFC fighters as the back-and-forth battle played out.

In the end, it was Jones once again getting the job done in a unanimous decision.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway is the lingering resentment Jones has for Cormier. When appearing on Fox Sports, Jones said that he hoped Cormier was “somewhere crying” after the loss. The ongoing bad blood between the two light heavyweights leaves the door open for a possible rematch somewhere down the line.

A second fight probably won’t catch magic in a bottle like the first one, which White says dwarfed his initial pay-per-view projection of 750,000 buys at the post-fight press conference.

However, it would give fans another blockbuster title fight worth the $60 price tag.

 

Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Fanrag Sports.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 182 Salaries: Jon Jones Earns Waaaaaay More Than Everyone Else


(Yep, that’s gonna suck. Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)

The UFC paid out $1.5 million in disclosed salaries and bonuses to the 22 fighters who competed at UFC 182: Jones vs. Cormier, with light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones taking home over a third of the pie. Of course, these numbers never really tell the full story, as they don’t include pay-per-view incentives and undisclosed “locker room bonuses” that can make UFC fights much more lucrative for the headliners. Anyway, the official payout list is below via MMAJunkie. Let us know if you have any questions.

Jon Jones: $550,000 (no win bonus; includes $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
def. Daniel Cormier: $140,000 (includes $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus)

Donald Cerrone: $140,000 (includes $70,000 win bonus)
def. Myles Jury: $16,000

Brad Tavares: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus)
def. Nate Marquardt: $49,000

Kyoji Horiguchi: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
def. Louis Gaudinot: $10,000


(Yep, that’s gonna suck. Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)

The UFC paid out $1.5 million in disclosed salaries and bonuses to the 22 fighters who competed at UFC 182: Jones vs. Cormier, with light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones taking home over a third of the pie. Of course, these numbers never really tell the full story, as they don’t include pay-per-view incentives and undisclosed “locker room bonuses” that can make UFC fights much more lucrative for the headliners. Anyway, the official payout list is below via MMAJunkie. Let us know if you have any questions.

Jon Jones: $550,000 (no win bonus; includes $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
def. Daniel Cormier: $140,000 (includes $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus)

Donald Cerrone: $140,000 (includes $70,000 win bonus)
def. Myles Jury: $16,000

Brad Tavares: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus)
def. Nate Marquardt: $49,000

Kyoji Horiguchi: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
def. Louis Gaudinot: $10,000

Hector Lombard: $106,000 (includes $53,000 win bonus)
def. Josh Burkman: $45,000

Paul Felder: $70,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus, $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus)
def. Danny Castillo: $36,000

Cody Garbrandt: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
def. Marcus Brimage: $12,000

Shawn Jordan: $94,000 (includes $22,000 win bonus, $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus)
def. Jared Cannonier: $8,000

Evan Dunham: $54,000 (includes $27,000 win bonus)
def. Rodrigo Damm: $12,000

Omari Akhmedov: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Mats Nilsson: $8,000

Marion Reneau: $17,600 (includes $8,000 win bonus, and $1,600 from Dufresne’s purse)
def. Alexis Dufresne: $6,400 (Dufresne was penalized 20% of her purse for missing weight)

UFC 182: Cain Velasquez Consoles Emotional Cormier Backstage After Loss

UFC 182 was an emotional night for Daniel Cormier, who came up short in his quest for the light heavyweight title against nemesis Jon Jones.
As he exited an arena filled with thousands Saturday night, Cormier crossed back over the broken threshold of r…

UFC 182 was an emotional night for Daniel Cormier, who came up short in his quest for the light heavyweight title against nemesis Jon Jones.

As he exited an arena filled with thousands Saturday night, Cormier crossed back over the broken threshold of reality into the waiting arms of longtime friend and training partner Cain Velasquez. UFC Espanol posted a Vine of the emotional embrace Sunday:

In an interview with Submission Radio, retired UFC middleweight Chris Leben explained that the life of a fighter is only warranted with 15 or 25 minutes of glory—maximum. The rest is all “blood, sweat, tears and sacrifice.”

It’s hard to fathom all of the hours wasted away in a training room only to come up short for a world title on the biggest stage. The enormity of the disappointment felt by Cormier after dropping a unanimous decision to Jones cannot be quelled by rudimentary phrases like, “it’ll be OK” or “you did your best.”

Sure, both of those phrases are absolutely true. Cormier fought like a warrior against arguably the greatest fighter in MMA history, and odds are, he’ll work his way back to a rematch one day.

Moments of disappointment are remedied over time by understanding. Velasquez didn’t have to say anything to Cormier. As a fighter and someone who has lost in a title fight, he understood every emotion running through Cormier’s veins without uttering a single word.

For years, fans have often criticized both Velasquez and Cormier for refusing to fight one another at heavyweight, but moments like this prove the very essence of a deep relationship that has developed between these two warriors.

They aren’t just training partners. They are brothers.

 

Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Fanrag Sports.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com