Daniel Cormier Reacts To UFC Removing Jon Jones From ‘UFC 200,’ Says He Is ‘Disappointed And Sad’ [Video]

Earlier this year, the upcoming UFC 200 fight card saw a considerable loss when of its fighters in its main event, Conor McGregor, circulated across the internet that he had retired from the sport of MMA. Dana White and the UFC were in a bit of a panic when they heard about “The Notorious” retiring, because many fans were looking forward to McGregor’s rematch against Nate Diaz, a fighter who decimated McGregor in their first fight at UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz.

Eventually, White and company were able to find a way to keep the hype train going for UFC 200 by scheduling the rematch between the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier against interim UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones, a match they would stick with even after Conor McGregor admitted his “retirement” was a social media stunt.

Sadly, that highly-anticipated rematch will have to wait as MMA news came in that Jon Jones failed his drug test administered by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). As a result, “Bones” is now out of UFC 200. Not surprisingly, “DC” was “very disappointed.”

Jon Jones was officially dropped from the UFC 200 card today after news circulated of Jones’ failing his drug test late last night, Wednesday, July 6, as reported by Sports Illustrated. As we all know, he was scheduled to fight Daniel Cormier in a rematch during the main event to unify the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Because of his drug test failure, Jones is now out of UFC 200. Dana White did make it clear that he is unsure if he will find a different opponent within a span of about two to three days.

“It’s devastating to Daniel Cormier, not only mentally and physically… and financially. This pay-per-view is trending to be massive nationally and he shares in that revenue. It’s devastating to him in every way it could possibly be.

Maybe somebody wants to pop up and fight Cormier last-minute. I’d like to make a fight if I can.”

Unfortunately, Dana White and the UFC cannot guarantee that anyone will be ready to fight Daniel Cormier at such short notice. Ergo, Brock Lesnar and Mark Hunt will headline the monumental pay-per-view, as shown on the official website for UFC. This seems to be happenstance given the fact Lesnar headlined the first monumental UFC pay-per-view, UFC 100, when he defeated Frank Mir in a rematch unifying the UFC Heavyweight Championship.

Eventually, Daniel Cormier took to a press release to express his feelings not of only Jon Jones being taken out of the fight due to a drug test violation, but of him now off the card too. It is not surprising Cormier is very disappointed, but he is also very sad, especially now that he cannot be a part of the “biggest pay-per-view in UFC history,” as reported by Fox Sports.

“It’s very sad from a competitive standpoint, from a financial standpoint, there are a number of ways in which this is disappointing. I really don’t know exactly how to explain how I’m feeling right now.”

Daniel Cormier did make it known that he fights whoever UFC pairs him up with. This means if UFC were to pair him with Jon Jones again, he would take the fight. Also, Cormier is at a different place in his career in which he isn’t as brash and mean as he used to be. Instead of ripping a new one into Jones, he is taking the situation in stride, giving Jones the afforded time for a possible appeal.

UFC 200: Lesnar vs. Hunt will take place on Saturday, July 9, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, starting at 10 p.m./7 p.m. ETPT. It is only available via pay-per-view through cable and satellite providers, television and set-top boxes, the internet (UFC Fight Pass), and tablet and mobile apps. Also, certain bars will showcase the pay-per-view such as Buffalo Wild Wings and Hooters.

[AP Photo/Jeff Chiu]