Jon Jones has been stripped of the UFC light heavyweight title for the third time in his career.

The news was announced today on FS1’s “UFC Tonight” by long-time rival Daniel Cormier, whose knockout loss to Jones at UFC 214 was declared a no-contest by the California State Athletic Commission.

After Jones (21-1-1 MMA, 15-1-1 UFC) was first flagged for the banned steroid turinabol, UFC President Dana White said he would crown Cormier (19-1-1 MMA, 8-1-1 UFC) the new champion if Jones was suspended by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. But with Jones’ initial failure confirmed by a positive B sample, the promotion made that decision sooner.

“Dana White called me today, and he said if it’s a no-contest then the fight didn’t happen,” Cormier said. “He says, ‘One of you guys would’ve missed weight, and he would’ve won the fight, you still would’ve kept the belt.’ He said, ‘Because of that, the championship is getting returned to you. The fight is a no-contest. If he cheated, he could not have fought and cheated and still won the fight.’ So, once again, I’m the UFC champion.

“Now, people will say stuff like, ‘Well, you got handed the belt.’ He cheated, and the reality is, for me to say I don’t want this title when I was going to be in championship fight anyways, financially it’s just a big difference if I don’t fight as the champion as opposed to fighting for a vacant title. I’m taking the belt.”

Denise White, Jones’ public relations representative, did not initially respond to a request for comment. The UFC also sent MMAjunkie a prepared statement confirming the decision to strip Jones.

“UFC was informed Wednesday that the result of the UFC 214 bout between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier on July 29 was overturned by the California State Athletic Commission,” read the statement. “The ruling changes the Jones ‘win’ to a ‘no contest’ following a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an in-competition sample collected after Jones’ weigh-in on July 28, 2017.

“As this was a title bout, Cormier will be reinstated as UFC light heavyweight champion.”

Jones also faces a possible four-year suspension from USADA and additional punishment from the CSAC, which regulated the July 29 pay-per-view event. His team has indicated he will appeal the positive tests, arguing they were the result of a contaminated supplement.

If Jones goes to arbitration, his case could play out over several months.

Cormier defended the UFC’s decision to reinstate him as champ and had pointed criticism for Jones, whom he’s previously accused of knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs.

“He disqualified himself by taking a steroid before the fight,” Cormier said. “So it didn’t happen. I get the belt back, which is the right thing to do. And I’m not only saying that because it’s me. It’s the right thing to do. You don’t cheat the sports, you don’t cheat the fans, you don’t cheat me. You have all the physical advantages, sir. You’re 30 years old, you’re 6-4, you have 85-inch reach. … It’s an unfortunate situation. We had one of the biggest fights of the year, and once again this guy has made a mockery of the sport.”

Jones was first stripped of the title after a hit-and-run accident in April 2015 left a pregnant woman with a broken arm. He reached a plea agreement with prosecutors and received 18 months’ probation.

After fulfilling the terms of his probation, Jones returned to the cage and beat Ovince Saint Preux in a bout for the interim UFC light heavyweight title put up after Cormier was forced to withdraw from UFC 197. Three months later, however, Jones again found himself in hot water when he failed a pre-fight drug test in connection with a title unifier against Cormier at UFC 200.

In November 2016, the UFC stripped him of the interim title after USADA handed him a one-year suspension.

For complete coverage of UFC 214, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

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