The main event for UFC 200 officially has been set — and it does not include Conor McGregor.
UFC president Dana White announced Wednesday on “Good Morning America” that a rematch between light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and interim champ Jon “Bones” Jones will headline the event, which is set for July 9 at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
Jones and Cormier last squared off at UFC 182 in January 2015, with the former winning by unanimous decision. Jones has fought only once since, however, defeating Ovince Saint Preux by unanimous decision Saturday night at UFC 197 after returning from a UFC-imposed suspension.
Jones and Cormier were scheduled to fight Saturday, but Cormier pulled out with a shin injury, and Saint Preux took his place.
The UFC 200 main event initially was supposed to feature a rematch between McGregor and Nate Diaz, but McGregor was removed from the card last week after he refused to make the required promotional appearances and briefly retired from the circuit.
The 27-year-old Irishman tweeted early Monday morning that his bout with Diaz was back on, but White later shot down that possibility.
“I don’t know why he (sent that tweet), I still haven’t talked to him,” White said in an interview with TMZ. “We had a whole press conference about this. I just don’t know how much more clear I can make it. I laid it out.
“I’ve said it a million times — Conor has stepped up and saved big fights for us. I have no hard feelings for Conor. Conor’s his own guy, he’s going to do what he’s going to do, but he’s not fighting on (UFC) 200. Listen, he’ll fight on 201, 202, 203, whatever, I don’t know when, but we’ll get it figured out.”
Jones sits atop the UFC’s latest pound-for-pound rankings, while Cormier ranks ninth.
Thumbnail photo via Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports Images
