Jon Jones Out Of UFC 178, Fight With Daniel Cormier Pushed Back To January 3, 2015

After last week’s epic windfall of news surrounding light heavyweight champion Jon Jones’ insane UFC 178 Media Day brawl with No. 2-ranked Daniel Cormier, it appears that the anticipated bout will have to wait until next year.

According to Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter, Jones is out of September 27’s UFC 178 from Las Vegas, and his fight with Cormier has been pushed back to the January 3, 2015 card:

Jones was significantly injured in training after hyping the fight so vehemently last week, going so far as to threaten Cormier’s life. The champ was forced out with a torn meniscus in his left knee and a sprained ankle suffered in wrestling practice.

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For his part, Cormier expressed his disappointment at the news to MMA Fighting:

“It’s very disappointing. 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 injury. I could have fought through it, I just wish he would have done the same.”

Indeed he did, as Cormier was set to have knee surgery for an injured ACL after demolishing Dan Henderson in the co-main event of UFC 173 on May 24. He made a barb at Jones’ withdrawal, but it seems like UFC 178s’s main event is just cursed.

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After all, the whole Jones- “DC” beef was taken to the next level when formerly scheduled title challenger Alexander Gustafsson was forced out with a torn meniscus of his own.

A new main event has been named for the anticipated card, which still boasts a long lineup of interesting fights. MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani just confirmed that the flyweight championship bout between champion Demetrious Johnson and Chris Cariaso, which was set to co-main event Aug. 30’s UFC 177 from Sacramento, will now headline UFC 178:

Given the highly lambasted lack of success of “Mighty Mouse’s” pay-per-view (PPV) main event debut at June’s UFC 174, this new headliner is the exact opposite of Jones vs. Cormier, which was quickly becoming the most anticipated fight of all-time. More on the disappointing situation as it develops.

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Photo: Tom Szczerbowski for USA TODAY Sports