The 28-year-old is being investigated by the US Anti-Doping Authority (USADA), temporarily leaving Cormier without an opponent and a gaping hole on the card for one of UFC’s biggest nights of the year.
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Jones tested positive for a banned substance, which took him out of the main event.
According to Dana White, Cormier had requested that the fight be fought at 210lbs, presumably because his weight-cutting schedule had been disrupted after the revalation that Jones had been removed from the fight due to an anti-doping violation.
“Is there anything I can do?”
“I think I’m in good shape and I don’t want Daniel or anyone else to think I’m underestimating him”, Silva said.
The UFC interim light heavyweight champion broke into tears at a hastily arranged news conference a day after his rematch with Daniel Cormier was canceled.
It’s been a very stressful time for UFC president Dana White.
White also told ESPN that the Miesha Tate-Amanda Nunez women’s bantamweight title bout was being elevated to a co-headlining position alongside the Brock Lesnar-Mark Hunt three-round heavyweight battle. Silva knocked out both Forrest Griffin (2009) and Stephan Bonnar (2012) in the first round while fighting at 205 pounds.
If UFC 200 served as any indication of what to expect when the UFC debuts at Madison Square Garden on November 12, it’s to expect the unexpected.
Cormier won a clear unanimous decision but it became the topic of debate between Donald Cerrone and CM Punk during a special Q&A at the UFC Fan Expo that was titled “UFC 200 Aftermath”.
“I’ve been in the business long enough – the entertainment industry, the fight game – the show still goes on”, said Lesnar after he opted out of doing the open workout.
Despite its brevity, the fight at the sold-out T-Mobile Arena easily lived up to its billing as the main event.
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“Oh man, I trained so hard”, Cormier says in the video as he pleads with White to allow the fight to go on, “Like, is there anything I can do? Every time he’s moved up to 205, he’s looked better than he did at 185”.
