The UFC's final pay-per-view of 2018 is upon us as a pair of must-see title bouts headline UFC 232 on Saturday. But everything from the last-minute venue change to the circumstances surrounding the main event have this feeling anything but a normal event.
Six days before the New Years' Eve weekend card was expected to go off at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, UFC announced it will move the event to The Forum in Inglewood, California, following yet another drug test abnormality involving the returning Jon Jones. The show will go on as promoted, however, with Jones still facing Alexander Gustafsson for the vacant light heavyweight title in the main event and Cris "Cyborg" Justino defending her women's featherweight title against bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes in the co-main event.
How did we get here? What does Jones' failed test mean for both his future and the reputations of UFC and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)? Here are the five biggest storylines entering UFC 232 on Saturday.
1. Wait … what in the heck just happened? If you happened to get a head start on the egg nog just two nights before Christmas, you may have woken up Monday morning to a surreal development. But, yes, this really happened. On just a few days' notice, UFC 232 is moving from Las Vegas to Los Angeles essentially so that the promotion can find a state commission willing to sanction Jones' title shot despite the fact that a minuscule amount of turinabol were present in his system from last year.
No, this isn't the Twilight Zone, but it may feel that way for any fans, fighters or their respective family members who had already purchased hotel and airfare for Saturday and now need to scramble. What in the heck do we make of this situation? What in the heck should we make of this situation? At the very least, consider this horrific public relations for the credibility of USADA, especially considering fighters like Frank Mir -- under almost the exact same circumstances -- were told essentially the opposite of the defense now being used to prove Jones' innocence so that the card can still go on. UFC deserves just as much criticism for not pulling Jones altogether and salvaging UFC 232 with Cyborg-Nunes as the new main event. Choosing to move the show under such bizarre circumstances may end up allowing the company to save face from a PPV standpoint, but it screams everything from sketchiness and impropriety to continued special treatment for one of its biggest stars. Merry Christmas.
2. Now what in the heck do we do with Jones? The big debate heading into UFC 232 was whether the topic of performance-enhancing drugs and how inextricably they are linked to Jones' legacy could somehow fade to the background in order to give the former light heavyweight champion a fresh slate to redeem himself. Even after he defied a California State Athletic Commission recommendation to enroll in Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) testing -- in addition to USADA -- this past week and chose to decline, there were many observers who seemed simply happy enough to have the UFC star back. But even if you buy every single one of Jones' excuses and alibis following one drug test abnormality after another, it's no longer possible to separate his history from his legacy as a fighter. Yes, stars in any sport or profession seem to receive preferential treatment due to their talent and ability to make money for their employers, but Jones seems to have received an almost unheard of level of preferential support from both UFC and USADA in recent months -- from the dramatic reducing of his 2017 suspension to Saturday's card being moved to a different state simply so he can fight for the title that has been stripped from him a record three times.
At some point, even the most ardent Jones supporters need to come to grips with the reality that the same thing keeps happening to the same person. This isn't just a coincidental pattern, it's a problem. And it's a permanent part of his history.
3. Buckle up for the rematch of a lifetime. Would we ever have guessed it would take place under these circumstances? Um, no. Does the fact that UFC is willing to strip the 205-pound title from a model employee like Daniel Cormier in order to put it up for grabs in a fight involving Jones, who has been anything but, add a layer of uneasiness to the situation? You better believe it. How about the weird stat that Jones has somehow appeared in the Octagon more recently than Gustafsson despite his numerous suspensions? Yeah, the situation is far from ideal. But if you're able to peel back the bizarre just enough to settle in for the entertainment that's to come, Saturday's main event is a potential instant classic waiting to happen. Again.
In a rematch of their epic 2013 fight that's considered by many to be the greatest title bout in UFC history, Jones and Gustafsson will suit up again five years later. In the years that have followed, he has admitted using cocaine during fight week and said he walked to the Octagon at UFC 165 in Toronto trying to come to terms with the reality that he was about to lose. Whether Gustafsson had success due to a diminished Jones or simply he's the perfect foil physically for such an all-time great, the five-round bout saw both give as great as they received. In the end, Jones proved he was as great as advertised by walking through hell to hang on. So where are we five years later? One could argue Jones has even more questions to answer physically than Gustafsson, who is finally healthy. The last time we saw Jones, he knocked out Cormier in a competitive rematch that was later ruled a no contest due to a failed drug test. One year earlier, Jones looked sluggish and tentative in outpointing Ovince Saint Preux. With all of the pressure on Jones, this could turn out to be the kind of classic sequel that actually quiets all of the PED talk surrounding the fight.
4. The greatest women's fight in UFC history is upon us. It's not getting the commercial respect it deserves, but Saturday's co-main event pairing Justino and Nunes is nothing short of a superfight. Active and dominant champions in their respective divisions will square off for Justino's 145-pound title, but even more, the idea that the winner exits the Octagon as the G.O.A.T. of women's MMA isn't all that far-fetched. It's a title that "Cyborg" may already hold, depending upon your perspective. And should Nunes defeat her, adding Justino's name to a resume that includes wins over current or former champions Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Germaine de Randamie and Valentina Shevchenko (twice), this is no longer just a sneaky good argument that "The Lioness" has the best resume of any female fighter before her. The matchup also has the potential to be a classic between two power-punching Brazilian fighters. Whether you chalk it up to Nunes' history of poor PPV sales or not, this is a fight more people should be talking about.
5. One more lap around the cage for an aging legend. You may not have noticed it yet, but UFC Hall of Famer and former two-division champion BJ Penn turned 40 earlier this month. You also may not have realized that he's fighting again on Saturday, deep on the undercard of one of the year's biggest events. It's the kind of news that is either received with nostalgic surprise or an overwhelming feeling of fear and doom. Either way, Penn will bring his five-fight losing streak and record of 1-7-1 since his lightweight title loss to Frankie Edgar in 2010 into the cage with him against Ryan Hall, who returns following a two-year layoff. The bout will be Penn's first at 155 pounds since his pair of losses to Edgar eight years ago, bringing to a close a misguided three-fight bid at featherweight where Penn cut down to 145 pounds for the first time in his career.
Should "The Prodigy" still be fighting at this point and on this level? It's hard to make a case in favor of it given his recent history. And while it might feel natural to cheer Penn on to a victory in hopes he might be able to exit his great career on his own terms, a win would just as likely lead him to fighting again. Very rarely are there happy endings in combat sports, so here's to hoping Penn can find one.
