Being the headliner for UFC 200 meant everything to Daniel Cormier. For the light heavyweight champion, facing Jon Jones again was a chance to validate the title that he won during Jones' year-long suspension and prove himself as the top fighter at 205 pounds.
On Wednesday night, Cormier and the rest of the fight world found out that Jones was flagged for an anti-doping violation by the USADA and pulled off of the UFC 200 card. UFC has video of Cormier finding out about the news (4:10 mark of the below video) and it shows how much the fight meant to him, as he pleaded with Dana White to allow him to stay on the card, even if it meant signing a waiver to let Jones still fight.
(WARNING: Video contains NSFW language)
Cormier's initial reaction is gut-wrenching as he drops his head into his hands and begins searching for ways to keep the fight going, with White telling him there's no way to sign a waiver to let the fight continue.
The good news for Cormier is that, as we know now, he remains on the card and will face Anderson Silva on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It's not a title fight and doesn't carry the same importance as the fight with Jones and isn't the main event, but it's still a fight against a UFC legend on a big stage.
