Fueled by genuine distain for each other, one of the biggest grudges, and fierce rivalries finally comes to a head, and is settled ‘Once And For All’ at UFC 214, as Jon Jones looks to win back the title he never lost against current champion Daniel Cormier on a night that features 3 title fights.
In a sport where violence is the name of the game you’d be surprised just how much sportsmanship is shown. How calm, reserved, respectful and friendly fighters are towards each other. There is obviously an exception to every rule, and in this case it is Daniel ‘D.C.’ Cormier and Jon ‘Bones’ Jones.
They have fought once before, and that occurred in the main event of UFC 182 in early January 2015 , although prior to this the two fighters came to blows during a staredown photo opportunity in the lobby of the MGM Grand Garden Hotel and Casino in early August. Video of the brawl quickly went viral, and landed them with a collective fine of $60,000 and 60 hours of community service.
In the actual sanctioned fight itself Jones dominated almost the entirety for a unanimous decision victory.
However following his victory it was announced that Jones had failed a drugs test prior to the event. The failure was for a recreational drug and not a performance enhancing one so the official result stood.
However in the months that followed his title defence Jones was involved in a hit-and-run incident, which prompted the UFC to suspend him indefinitely, and strip him of the title.
At UFC 187 there was a fight between the Number 1 contender Anthony Johnson and the previous challenger Cormier – who up until his loss to Jones had been unbeaten. Cormier won the contest by third round submission and subsequently the title.
By 2016 Jones suspension had been lifted and a rematch for the title was arranged for UFC 197, however 22 days before the event Cormier pulled out of the fight citing a foot injury.
He was replaced by Top 10 ranked fighter Ovince Saint Preux who went on to contest a bout for the Interim Light Heavyweight Title, which Jones won via unanimous decision.
A few months later a now fit again Cormier was expected to contest a unification bout against Jones at the biggest event in the history of the company at UFC 200 on July 9th.
However only 3 days before it was scheduled to take place USADA the national anti-doping association announced that Jones had violated the anti-doping policy stemming from an out-of-competition sample taken on June 16th.
In the days that followed Jones apologised, but denied knowingly taking any illegal substance. Nonetheless Jones was suspended for a year, and again stripped of the title.
However with Jones’s suspension coming to an end (it actually ended on July 6th) it was announced in May that finally the rematch would take place at UFC 124.
Don’t be mistaken though, this is just about the main event. There are actually two other title fights on the card.
The Men’s Welterweight Title will be on the line as Tyron ‘The Chosen One’ Woodley put his belt on the line against veteran BJJ practitioner and Number 1 contender Demian Maia.
Also the vacant Women’s Featherweight title is on the line as Brazilian Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Santos takes on American Tonya ‘Triple Threat’ Evinger. The UFC proposed a match between the then champion Germaine de Randamie against Cyborg, but de Randamie refused the contest on the grounds of Cyborg failing drug tests in the past. The UFC decided to strip her of the title and then create this match.
As well as this the main card also features a fight between former Welterweight Champion ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler and former Lightweight challenger Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, and also London’s own Jimi ‘Poster Boy’ Manuwa and Swiss-Turkish fighter Volkan Oezdemir.
The event will be shown on BT Sport with the main card starting at 3am on Sunday 30th, and for more details please head over to ufc.com
