Jon Jones’ UFC 214 win over Daniel Cormier has been overturned

Back in July, in the main event of the stacked UFC 214, former UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones stepped into the cage with reigning champ Daniel Cormier in an effort to reclaim the title he never truly lost. Though Cormier had some success in the early portions of the fight, Jones ultimately succeeded on his mission to reclaim light heavyweight gold, bludgeoning Cormier with a third-round head-kick and polishing him off with a meteor shower of ground-and-pound.

It was a feel-good moment for the returning Jones, whose recent career has been marred by major controversies, both in and out of the cage. Unfortunately, Jones’ causes for celebration were smothered almost immediately, as it was revealed that he’d failed a drug test administered on the night of UFC 214 weigh-ins.

From there, Jones and the larger MMA community endured several weeks of uncertainty, as other tests failed to confirm what his first failed test suggested. And really, there seemed to be real cause for optimism that there had been some kind of mistake, that maybe, Jones’ win was legitimate. Unfortunately, the results of Jones B test were revealed last night, and they confirmed that the bona fide MMA legend had, indeed, tested positive for the banned substance Turinabol. 

The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC), who sanctioned the Anaheim-based UFC 214 card, wasted no time in slamming down the hammer. This morning, per MMAFighting.com, the commission overturned Jones’ UFC 214 win, leaving a no-contest where a win once resided on his record, and removing a loss from Cormier’s record.

With this result, Cormier is likely to be reinstated as the UFC light heavyweight champion in the near future – though the UFC claims it will wait until Jones’ situation is clearer to make any decisions re: the title.

Jones’ future is now extremely nebulous. Given that he is now a repeat offender, things certainly don’t look good for him. Though he and his team are maintaining that he didn’t intentionally take any banned substance, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), is not likely to be very forgiving.

What are your thoughts on this latest Jon Jones debacle?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 9/13/2017.