Following news that he had been pulled from UFC 200 over a potential doping violation, Jon Jones addressed the media on Thursday (July 7).
Emotional, the MMA star issued an apology to his opponent Daniel Cormier, while denying any wrongdoing.
"They found something in one of my samples that I have no clue what it is," Jones explained. "I don't even know how to pronounce it. I've been taking the same supplements the majority of my career. I've been so outspoken about being against any type of performance enhancers. To this day, I'm extremely against performance enhancers.
"The whole thing sucks," he continued. "Being labeled as someone who would cheat hurts more than anything else I've ever been through in my career."
Jones was removed from the UFC 200 card late Wednesday evening (July 6), after the USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) informed him of a potential violation. Both the USADA and Jones' camp confirmed that a banned substance was found in a sample Jones provided on June 16, but further details are currently unknown.
"My management team is very aware that everything needs to be documented leading up to a fight," Jones said. "I just know in my heart I would never take anything that would enhance me in any way, so I didn't feel the need to jot down anything. I didn't really think this could ever happen."
He was to fight in a rematch again Cormier in a light heavyweight unification bout.
UFC president Dana White said, in an interview Thursday with "The Herd" on FS1, that Cormier will still fight this weekend, but he didn't specify who his opponent will be.
With Jones-Cormier off the card, the heavyweight fight between Brock Lesnar and Mark Hunt wil serve as the main event.
UFC 200 goes down Saturday (July 9) in Las Vegas.
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