UFC 232 moved from Las Vegas to L.A. after Jon Jones' test results
In an unprecedented move, the UFC is relocating next weekend's UFC 232 pay-per-view event from Las Vegas to Los Angeles because of a licensing issue involving Jon Jones in the state of Nevada.
UFC president Dana White broke the news on SportsCenter on Sunday. UFC 232, originally scheduled to take place at T-Mobile Arena this coming Saturday, will now be at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
All 26 fighters scheduled to compete at UFC 232 are expected to move with the card. Jones (22-1) is scheduled to meet Alexander Gustafsson (18-4) for the light heavyweight title.
The issue in Nevada arose last week, when the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) reported an atypical result of a drug test Jones submitted on Dec. 9.
That result showed the presence of the same long-term M3 metabolite for which Jones tested positive in July 2017, prior to a title fight against Daniel Cormier in Los Angeles.
That positive test resulted in the UFC stripping Jones of the light heavyweight championship, an 18-month suspension levied by USADA (which he has since served) and a $205,000 fine from the state of California.
Jeff Novitzky, the UFC vice president of athlete health and performance, said USADA did not view the detection as a "positive test," but that the process to clear Jones to fight in Nevada could not be completed in time for Saturday's card.
The decision was then made to move the card to California, where the state's athletic commission is familiar with Jones' positive test from July 2017.
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