UFC officials announced that former heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos has been removed from UFC 215 due to a potential doping violation with USADA. As a result, Francis Ngannou is without an opponent. The UFC released the following statement:
“Because of the proximity to Dos Santos’ upcoming scheduled bout at UFC 215 in Edmonton, Canada against Francis Ngannou, Dos Santos has been removed from the card and the UFC is currently seeking a replacement,” the UFC’s statement read. “Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full and fair legal process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.”
Dos Santos (18-5) is 2-2 in his last four fights, including a first-round TKO loss to Stipe Miocic at UFC 211 in May. “Cigano” released the following statement of his own on his Instagram account:
“I’m not here to give an explanation,” Dos Santos said in his video post. “Soon, everything will be clear to all of you and no doubt – truth will prevail. I’m here in respect for all of you guys. I just want to say that this situation is very tough for me, my team and my family. And I would never cheat. It goes against everything I stand for. I play a fair game. We will get to the bottom of this, figure out what happened, learn from it and move on. And I hope in the near future, Francis Ngannou and me can face each other and give you guys the show you were expecting. For now, thank you very much for your support. It means a lot to me, and that’s why I’m here.”
UFC 215 takes place September 9th at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Stay tuned to MMAOddsBreaker.com for more updates on this situation.
Andrei Arlovski vs. Junior Albini booked for UFC Fight Night 120 UFC officials also announced that Andrei Arlovski will face Junior Albini at UFC Fight Night 120 on November 11th at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Va.
Arlovski (25-15, 1 NC) has lost five straight fights, including a unanimous decision setback to Marcin Tybura at UFC Fight Night 111. The 38-year-old will be looking for his first win since September 2015. Albini (14-2) is coming off a first-round TKO win over Tim Johnson at UFC on FOX 25 in his promotional debut. The 26-year-old heads into this matchup on a 10-fight win streak and hasn’t lost since 2012.
Felice Herrig says she’s fighting Cortney Casey at UFC 218 in Detroit Strawweight Felice Herrig announced on Instagram that she’s fighting Cortney Casey at UFC 218 in Detroit on December 2nd at Little Caesars Arena.
Herrig (13-6) heads into this matchup off three straight wins, including a unanimous-decision victory against Justine Kish at UFC Fight Night 112 in June. “Lil Bulldog” has gone 4-1 in the UFC, with her lone loss coming against Paige Van Zant at UFC on FOX 15 in 2015. Casey (7-4) has won three of her last four fights, earning a unanimous-decision win over former WSOF champion Jessica Aguilar at UFC 211 in May. Following the win, the 30-year-old was involved in doping situation with USADA, however, she’s since been cleared of those allegations.
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