Jones apologizes to UFC 232 fighters after venue change

J. Jones returns after 15 months of suspension. Photo: Reproduction/Youtube ufc

Ultimate announced the transfer of UFC 232 from Las Vegas to Los Angeles with less than a week to go. The change was made after an anti-doping test found residue of the banned substance tourinalbol in the body of Jon Jones. Thus, the Nevada Athletic Commission vetoed the former champion's participation in the show in Nevada, even with clearance from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

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With the confirmation of the change on Sunday (23), the 26 athletes and their teams had to travel more than 450km to arrive in Inglewood. The disturbances made the fighters speak negatively on their social networks. Even so, Jones has been apologizing to his colleagues for the inconvenience.

"I feel good. I can't feel any other way. I feel bad for the fans, I went around apologizing to every fighter on the card that I saw in person. So far, everyone has forgiven me. I think I need to prioritize my emotions and save them for after the fight. Then, I definitely plan on giving back to the fans what they lost”, promised Jones in an interview with the North American website MMA Junkie.

Jones received the news that he had failed a drug test on the eve of the UFC's official announcement. This made the fighter fearful of what could happen to his career with new involvement with USADA.

“My first reaction was fear, I was a little scared. I just went through a lot to come back to this point and have one more thing happen, it was the worst case scenario. I was just thinking, 'Not again…' I was really grateful to be able to fight, because not fighting would have been so much more devastating,” said Jon.

Jones is a former UFC light heavyweight champion and has 23 professional fights and has only one loss to Matt Hamill in 2009. His last performance was in July 2017, when he knocked out Daniel Cormier and regained the belt, but his title was stripped after being caught in the exam with illegal substances. 'Bones' was suspended for 15 months by USADA and will make his return to UFC at UFC 232.