As a result, the UFC pulled Jones from his light heavyweight title fight against champion Daniel Cormier. White noted that he did not want to disrupt the fight cards for UFC 200 as it has already been disrupted when USADA flagged Jones for a possible Anti-Doping violation.
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“This is devastating for Daniel Cormier”, UFC president Dana White said in a hastily arranged news conference late on Wednesday.
“Is there anything I can do?”
“I’m going to have to run a lot”, Silva joked at a news conference Thursday night.
Light-heavyweight champion Cormier, 37, was originally scheduled to take on Jones in Las Vegas, but that fight fell through when Jones failed a drugs test. He also announced that Miesha Tate vs. Amanda Nunes will be the new main event, citing Tate deserving the spotlight for taking the belt off Holly Holm, who defeated Ronda Rousey.
“I’m here and it’s a great challenge for everything I’ve done here through wins and defeats”, Silva said.
Silva said he hadn’t been training for a fight this soon, but added he will enter the octagon ready to face Cormier.
The report says that it will not be for the light heavyweight championship, Silva fighting his career at middleweight, 20 pounds lighter.
And Silva’s bravery has been rewarded with a slot on the historic UFC 200 card, as confirmed by company officials prior to the main event of UFC Fight Night 90.
Saturday’s fight was supposed to be Jones’ second after serving a one-year ban from the UFC following a hit-and-run incident in Albuquerque, N.M. That was one of several run-ins with the law that Jones had in recent years.
The plan, which went into effect a year ago, requires fighters to submit to random in- and out-of-competition testing for banned substances year-round.
Daniel Cormier has issued a statement on his “very tough fight” with Anderson Silva who has stepped into the UFC 200 card on short notice. Silva won by unanimous decision.
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For now, Cormier has been left without an opponent, leaving UFC 200 to be headlined by the returning Brock Lesnar and Mark Hunt.
