“And they go the distance,” UFC commentator Mike Goldberg shouts over a screaming crowd. It is January 3 in Las Vegas, Nevada and Daniel Cormier’s steep rise to the top of the light heavyweight division has come to a halt. Undefeated in his professional career, Cormier earned himself a title shot against light heavyweight Champion Jon "Bones" Jones. Jones was 20-1 in his professional career, (his only loss coming by disqualification). He had successfully defended his title a record eight times, the most title retains of any other fighter. Cormier’s record was also impressive coming into the fight at 15-0. In the sold out MGM Grand arena, like any classic fight, it was a battle between the two most talented and fierce fighters in the light heavyweight division. Five rounds later, Cormier waked away with his first professional loss by the way of unanimous decision.
In the aftermath of the fight, Jon Jones landed himself in hot water. Jones had failed a drug test, and was shockingly found to have cocaine in his system prior to fighting Cormier. Jones went on record to say he regretted his decisions and that he was to get professional help. He went on to say that he wasn’t a drug addict, and his misjudgments were the reasoning behind failing the drug test. Only a month later Jones made headlines again, as he was involved in a multi-car hit-and-run accident in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was charged with injuring a person in an accident, and for leaving the scene of an accident. He turned himself into custody a day later, and posted bail that night. With Jones giving a black eye to the UFC, no pun intended, Dana White decided to strip Jones of the Light Heavyweight Championship and suspend him indefinitely.
With Jones out of commission, White looked to Cormier and Anthony Johnson to crown a new champion. At UFC 187 they fought for the belt. Cormier submitted Johnson in the third round by way of rear-naked choke and won his first title in the UFC. Earlier this summer Jon Jones looked to return what was rightfully his, the Light Heavyweight Championship. The stage was set for UFC 200. Cormier and Jones II was the fight Daniel Cormier had been waiting for. This was more than winning the belt for himself, this was about gaining retribution over Jones from the first fight. Unfortunately, only two days before UFC 200, Jones tested positive to blood doping. Cormier was noticeably upset after finding out about Jones suspension. In a video released by Bleacher Report, Dana White tells Cormier of the bad news. Astonished and disgusted, Cormier could only say “c’mon” or “we worked so hard for this.”
Cormier has to move on from Jon Jones. Jones’ antics in his personal life have caused him to be less trustworthy and more of a liability. The punishment for Jones would be a two-year ban from MMA fighting. Not even Dana White is able to help Jones at this point. White claims he is "out of breaks" to give Jones. With Jones banned, this may mean that Jones and Cormier II will never happen. Daniel Cormier may never get the satisfaction of beating Jon Jones.
