The piece de resistance of UFC 178, the marquee light heavyweight title match between reigning champion Jon “Bones” Jones and challenger Daniel Cormier, will not be pushing forward on September 27. Jones suffered a leg injury while training for the title defense, and his match against Cormier is now tentatively rescheduled to UFC 182, which also takes place at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden.
According to respected MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, the specific injuries are a torn meniscus in his left knee and a sprained ankle. With Bones vs Cormier off for UFC 178, the main event will now feature flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson defending against Chris Cariaso. This match was previously set up as the co-main event of UFC 177 before being moved to the upcoming event, which takes place on September 27.
Despite missing out on an opportunity to challenge Jones for the light heavyweight championship at UFC 178, Cormier will remain number one contender for the title; he was informed Tuesday by UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertita that previous number one contender Alexander Gustafsson will not be given his spot as a result of the postponement.
At the moment, UFC President Dana White was unable for comment as he is on vacation. Jones’ manager Malki Kawa and trainer Greg Jackson also were unavailable to speak. As for customers who had purchased tickets for UFC 178, they have up until August 22 to request a refund for the change in main events.