| UFC 214: Cormier vs. Jones 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 214: Cormier vs. Jones 2 | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | July 29, 2017 (2017-07-29) | |||
| Venue | Honda Center | |||
| City | Anaheim, California | |||
| Attendance | 16,610[1] | |||
| Total gate | $2,448,870[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 214: Cormier vs. Jones 2 was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship and held on July 29, 2017, at theHonda Center inAnaheim, California.[2]
A PPV event was initially planned for Anaheim on January 21, 2017, but was rescheduled for this date after a lack of suitable headlining fights could be arranged for the initial date in January.[2]
AUFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout between current championDaniel Cormier and former championJon Jones had been targeted for this event.[3] The pairing met previously atUFC 182 in January 2015 with Jones defending his title via unanimous decision.[4] Subsequent to that victory, Jones was stripped of the title and suspended indefinitely from the UFC in connection with ahit-and-run incident in which he was involved.[5] Cormier replaced him and went on to defeatAnthony Johnson atUFC 187 to win the vacant title.[6] Their rematch was originally expected to take place atUFC 197, but Cormier pulled out three weeks before the event due to injury and was replaced byOvince Saint Preux, in what became an interim title bout.[7] Jones went on to defeat Saint Preux by unanimous decision and won the interim title.[8] The fight was scheduled again and was expected to headlineUFC 200 in July 2016. However, Jones was pulled out of the fight byUSADA due to a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection on June 16. Jones' "B" sample also came positive for the same substances and Jones was suspended for one year, retroactively to July 6, 2016.[9][10] The Cormier-Jones rematch was officially announced on May 12, though its status as main event or co-headliner was not initially confirmed.[11] UFC presidentDana White confirmed that the bout would headline this event, despite previous issues regarding Jones. He also announced thatJimi Manuwa would participate on this card and should anything happen to the main event, Manuwa would be the replacement.[12] On May 31,Volkan Oezdemir was announced as his opponent.[13]
FormerStrikeforce Women's Featherweight Champion andInvicta FC Featherweight ChampionCristiane Justino (commonly referred to as Cris Cyborg) expressed her desire to face the inauguralUFC Women's Featherweight ChampionGermaine de Randamie at this event. However, de Randamie indicated that she would not face Cyborg due to her repeated transgressions withPEDs (despite Cyborg only failing a test in 2011).[14][15] The UFC decided to strip her of the title on June 19 due to her refusal to defend it and then booked Cyborg against promotional newcomer and current Invicta FC Featherweight ChampionMegan Anderson for the vacant title.[16][17] In turn, Anderson pulled out on June 27 for personal reasons and was replaced by currentInvicta FC Bantamweight ChampionTonya Evinger.[18]
On June 28, aUFC Welterweight Championship bout between current championTyron Woodley and formerUFC Middleweight Championship challenger and multiple-timejiu-jitsu world championDemian Maia was announced as the third title fight of this event.[19]
A featherweight bout between formerUFC Featherweight Championship challengersRicardo Lamas andChan Sung Jung was originally in the works forUFC on Fox: Weidman vs. Gastelum.[20] However, on May 12, the bout was confirmed for this event.[21] The pairing was originally slated to take place in July 2013 atUFC 162, but Jung was pulled from the bout in favor of a title fight against then-championJosé Aldo atUFC 163.[22] Subsequently, Jung pulled out of the fight in early June due to a severe knee injury.[23][24] He was replaced byJason Knight.[25]
Doo Ho Choi was expected to faceAndre Fili at the event, but pulled out on June 14 due to injury.[26] On July 15, promotional newcomerCalvin Kattar was announced as his replacement.[27]
Claudio Puelles was expected to faceSage Northcutt, but pulled out on June 19 due to a knee injury.[28] He was replaced byJohn Makdessi.[29] In turn, the fight was canceled on July 14 due to both fighters being injured.[30]
A welterweight bout between formerUFC Welterweight ChampionRobbie Lawler and formerUFC Lightweight Championship challengerDonald Cerrone was originally booked forUFC 205. However, Lawler pulled out to take a little more time after recovering from his previous fight atUFC 201.[31] The fight was then rescheduled to take place on July 8, 2017, atUFC 213.[32] Reports began to circulate on June 28 that Cerrone had sustained a minor injury and that the pairing would be left intact, but shifted to this event.[33] UFC PresidentDana White confirmed later that Cerrone in fact had astaph infection and apulled groin, and while the plan was to keep the bout, it wouldn't happen at this event.[34] In the end, the bout was confirmed on July 2 for this event.[35]
On June 28, theCalifornia State Athletic Commission (CSAC) denied formerUFC Bantamweight ChampionRenan Barão a bout at that weight class againstAljamain Sterling, due to his previous weight issues atUFC 177, inSacramento, California. The bout still happened, but at a catchweight of 140 pounds. CSAC Executive Director Andy Foster said that if Barão makes weight with no issues, the CSAC will revisit the possibility of allowing him at 135 lb in the future.[36]
Sara McMann andKetlen Vieira were expected to face each other at the event, but on July 7 it was announced that the bout was moved toUFC 215 in September.[37]
A heavyweight fight betweenDmitrii Smolyakov and promotional newcomer Adam Wieczorek was scheduled for the preliminary portion of the event. However, the bout was removed from the card for undisclosed reasons on July 17 and is expected to be rescheduled for a future event in October.[38]
| Main Card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Light Heavyweight | Daniel Cormier (c) | vs. | Jon Jones | NC (overturned) | 3 | 3:01 | [a] |
| Welterweight | Tyron Woodley (c) | def. | Demian Maia | Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 49–46, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | [b] |
| Women's Featherweight | Cris Cyborg | def. | Tonya Evinger | TKO (knees) | 3 | 1:56 | [c] |
| Welterweight | Robbie Lawler | def. | Donald Cerrone | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Volkan Oezdemir | def. | Jimi Manuwa | KO (punches) | 1 | 0:42 | |
| Preliminary Card (FXX) | |||||||
| Featherweight | Ricardo Lamas | def. | Jason Knight | TKO (punches) | 1 | 4:34 | |
| Catchweight (140 lb) | Aljamain Sterling | def. | Renan Barão | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–27, 30–26) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Brian Ortega | def. | Renato Moicano | Submission (guillotine choke) | 3 | 2:59 | |
| Featherweight | Calvin Kattar | def. | Andre Fili | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Women's Strawweight | Aleksandra Albu | def. | Kailin Curran | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Flyweight | Jarred Brooks | def. | Eric Shelton | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Drew Dober | def. | Josh Burkman | KO (punch) | 1 | 3:04 | |
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:[40]
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to theCalifornia State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses.[41] The total disclosed payout for the event was $3,636,000.[42]
On August 22, it was announced that Jones was flagged for a potential doping violation byUSADA stemming from his urine test sample collected after fight weigh-ins on July 28. He tested positive forTurinabol, ananabolic steroid. Jones was placed on a provisional suspension as a result of the positive drug test pending the full adjudication process.[43] The "B" sample from his pre-fight drug test later confirmed the presence of a banned substance, as announced on September 12. According to theCalifornia State Athletic Commission (CSAC), Jones passed multiple out-of-competition tests leading up to the event, as well as a blood test on July 29. That blood test does not significantly aid Jones' case, however, as blood tests do not test for Turinabol.[44] On the following day, the CSAC officially changed the result to a no contest.[45]
On September 13, the UFC announced that Jones was stripped of the title and Cormier was being reinstated as champion.[46] On February 28, 2018, the CSAC revoked Jones' fight license and fined him a total of $205,000, including 40% of his disclosed salary. He can re-apply for a license after his case with USADA is concluded.[47]
On September 20, USADA announced that Jones received a 15-month suspension, after an evidentiary hearing with an independent arbitrator on September 15. The independent arbitrator, well-known anti-doping investigator Richard McLaren, found Jones had "some degree of fault" for the steroid metabolite that showed up in his system, but "the violation was not intended nor could it have enhanced" his performance. The suspension is retroactive to the date his positive sample was collected, making him eligible on October 28.[48]
