Yesterday, less than 24 hours after a leg injury forced him out of defending his UFC light heavyweight title against Daniel Cormier next month, Jon Jones issued an apology to fans for missing the fight.
“I’d like to apologize to all the fans who were excited for UFC 178,” Jones wrote on Facebook. “Earlier this week, I suffered an injury while training for the fight. I’m having surgery tomorrow and I’m focused on recovering as quickly as possible. I look forward to getting back in the gym and defending my title on Jan. 3 in Las Vegas.”
Reports indicate that Jones’ injury is quite serious (despite Daniel Cormier’s comments to the contrary) as he has a torn meniscus in his left knee as well as a sprained ankle, with both ailments suffered during a practice on Monday.
The timing of the injury could not have been worse as the UFC 178 main event was one of the most highly-anticipated fights of the year, given that the two fighters were involved in a brawl at a press conference to promote the event and leaked footage of the pair trading obscenities the same day.
As a result of the injury, Jones’ fight against Cormier has been postponed to headline UFC 182 on January 3, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Demetrious Johnson vs. Chris Cariaso has been shifted into the new main event of UFC 178, which is set to take place September 27.
