Jon Jones stripped, Daniel Cormier crowned UFC light heavyweight champion again

Jon Jones is no longer the UFC light heavyweight champion.

Following a decision by the California State Athletic Commission to overturn Jones’ win against Daniel Cormier to a no contest, the UFC has stripped him of the title and returned it to the former champion.

The decision comes just a day after USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) revealed that Jones’ ‘B’ sample from a drug test administered on July 28 confirmed findings of the ‘A’ sample that he was positive for the steroid Turinabol.

The commission the moved in quick fashion to overturn Jones’ third round knockout to a no contest. With the victory now vacated, the UFC has reinstated Cormier as champion.

“Dana White called me today and he said if it’s a no contest, then the fight didn’t happen,” Cormier said on “UFC Tonight”. “If one of you guys would have missed weight, he would have won the fight, you still would have kept the belt. He said cause of that, the championship is getting returned to you. The fight is a no contest.

“If he cheated, he could not have fought and cheated and still won the fight. So once again I’m the UFC champion.”

UFC officials also released a statement on the matter.

“UFC was informed Wednesday that the result of the UFC 214 bout between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier on July 29 was overturned by the California State Athletic Commission. The ruling changes the Jones ‘win’ to a ‘no contest’ following a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an in-competition sample collected after Jones’ weigh-in on July 28, 2017,” UFC officials wrote.

“As this was a title bout, Cormier will be reinstated as UFC light heavyweight champion.”

This is the latest fallout from Jones’ positive drug test that was taken a day ahead of his fight with Cormier that was later returned positive for the steroid Turinabol.

Jones has made no public statement on the matter but his team has already hinted that a tainted supplement must be the culprit behind the positive drug test.

Because Jones tested positive for two banned substances last year and was later suspended for one year by USADA, he could receive up to a four-year suspension as a repeat offender of the UFC’s anti-doping program.

CORMIER BELIEVES THIS COULD BE A ‘DEATH SENTENCE’ FOR JONES

By all accounts, Jones will file an appeal and potentially go to arbitration with USADA before any potential punishment is handed down. Cormier says that Jones has to fight these charges because otherwise that could spell the end of his career.

“You said he has to fight this and he has to cause this is a death sentence if this does what it says it can be, it’s a death sentence,” Cormier added. “This is a very expensive drug, something that’s not gonna just be easily found in a supplement. I’ve been in the USADA program for 12 years, I’ve never had these issues. If it was a mistake the first time, you’ve got to be more careful, especially with all the scrutiny that was on him coming back from a suspension. You’ve got to be cautious and careful for people to understand anymore is just ridiculous.”

Jones will be afforded his due process before any potential penalty is handed down, but he remains under provisional suspension pending hearings with both USADA and the California State Athletic Commission.

Jones has largely already been tried in the court of public opinion after he was suspended last year for another positive drug test with this latest incident now costing him a win over Cormier and the UFC light heavyweight title.

“He disqualified himself by taking a steroid before the fight. So it didn’t happen. So now I get the belt back, which is the right thing to do. I’m not only saying that because it’s me. It’s the right thing to do. You don’t cheat the sport. You don’t cheat the fans. You don’t cheat me,” Cormier said.

“You have all the physical advantages, sir. You’re 30 years old, you’re 6’4″, you’ve got a 84-inch reach. I’m 38 years old — I would love to take stuff and wake up every morning and not have to walk down my stairs sideways and just get back to training. It’s an unfortunate situation. We had one of the biggest fights of the year and once again this guy has made a mockery of the sport.”