The much-anticipated fight between UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier has been postponed due to an injury Jones suffered during training on Monday.
The injury has pushed Jones's title defense from Sept. 27 to Jan. 3, according to MMA Fighting. Sources with knowledge of the situation say Jones tore his meniscus in the left knee and sprained an ankle during a wrestling practice.
"It's very disappointing," Cormier said. "I started to train very hard. It's a little discouraging, but now I have time to get completely healthy. I don't know how hurt Jon is, but we have to remember that I took this fight with a pre-existing (knee) injury. I could have fought through it, I just wish he would have done the same."
Sept. 27 is the date set for UFC 178, which will be held at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Yahoo! Sports reported. Cormier added that he was told by Lorenzo Fertitta, CEO of UFC, that he would still face Jones and will not be replaced by Alexander Gustafsson, who was originally supposed to fight Jones at the PPV until he suffered an injury.
Demetrious Johnson will defend his flyweight title against Chris Cariaso as the new main event of UFC 178. This fight was originally scheduled to take place as the co-main event of UFC 177 on Aug. 30 in Sacramento, Calif.
Several changes to UFC 178 have already been made, such as moving the event from Toronto to Las Vegas when the main event was set as Jones vs. Gustafsson, MMA Fighting reported.
While Jones vs. Cormier had already received a lot of attention from MMA fans, it received even more mainstream attention after their brawl in the lobby of the MGM Grand last week.
January's fight between Jones and Cormier will be the main event of UFC 182, which will also be held at the MGM Grand, Yahoo! Sports reported.
The UFC said that it is letting customers who have already bought tickets for UFC 178 and wanted to see Jones vs. Cormier ask for a refund. However, fans must ask fast, as the deadline for requesting a refund is Aug. 22nd.
