Jon Jones tearfully apologized Thursday and tried to explain the potential doping violation that bounced him from UFC 200, but how his opponent, Daniel Cormier, first reacted to the news was unknown.
Until now.
Cameras captured the moment UFC president Dana White told Cormier about Jones’ positive test Wednesday night in Las Vegas, and it’s hard to watch, to say the least.
Cormier goes from physically angry, stamping his feet, to begging for the fight to continue, to resignation about the fact he won’t face Jones on the UFC’s biggest stage.
White’s sincerity toward Cormier is especially touching, and the UFC boss carried that approach into Thursday, saying at the Conor McGregor-Nate Diaz press conference that he’d been working all day on finding a new opponent for the light heavyweight champion. Conversely, White said he didn’t watch Jones’ press conference that morning, nor had he talked to him.
Cormier’s reaction was chronicled for UFC 200 Embedded, the fight circuit’s behind-the-scenes series, and you can watch the entire episode on the UFC’s YouTube page. Be warned that the series is unscripted and contains some salty language from the fighters.
Thumbnail photo via Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports Images
