UFC 232 moved from Las Vegas to Los Angeles
The UFC will not host a New Year’s weekend card in Las Vegas for the first time in more than a decade.
The UFC will not host a New Year’s weekend card in Las Vegas for the first time in more than a decade.
UFC 232, which was scheduled for T-Mobile Arena on Dec. 29, has been moved to The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., officials confirmed to the Review-Journal on Sunday.
The issue was caused when USADA revealed there were trace amounts of a banned substance in an out-of-competition sample collected from former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who is set to fight Alexander Gustafsson for the belt in the main event.
USADA determined the amount of oral turinabol, one-50 millionth of a grain of salt, was so minute that it represented residuals of a prior issue and not a re-ingestion.
It’s the same substance Jones tested positive for in 2017 that led to a 15-month suspension from which he is set to return on Saturday.
The Nevada Athletic Commission was notified, but won’t have enough time to independently review the case and determine whether he should be licensed in time for him to compete on Saturday.
Jones was in front of the commission in California for that case last month and they are more familiar with his testing history, making it a logical destination.
“Unarmed combatant Jon Jones will be allowed to withdraw his pending application for licensure, which was intended to clear him to fight in a major contest in Nevada later this month,” the NAC stated in an email. “After extensive analysis of Mr. Jones’ prior 18 months of USADA in- and out-of-competition anti-doping drug testing results, (executive director Bob Bennett, chairman Anthony Marnell) and Mr. Jones agree that he will appear at an evidentiary hearing in January. This will allow for a measured, thoughtful, and comprehensive discussion of his anti-doping testing protocol and results and provide an opportunity for the NSAC to determine the appropriate path forward for him in Nevada. We look forward to his hearing.”
UFC 232 also features a women’s featherweight title bout between champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino and bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes.
The last time the UFC did not host a pay-per-view event in Las Vegas on New Year’s weekend was at the end of 2005.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @AdamHIllLVRJ on Twitter.
Source: “Los Angeles” – Google News