UFC 232 News: California State Athletic Commission confirms salaries for Jones and Gustafsson ahead of title clash
What's the story?
Ahead of the UFC 232 event scheduled to take place on December 29th, 2018, the California State Athletic Commission has confirmed the take-home purse money for the co-main event and main event fighters of the evening.
For the co-main event, Amanda Nunes will be moving up to the featherweight division to challenge the champion, Cris Cyborg, for the title. The main event will feature a rematch between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson for the recently vacated, Light Heavyweight Championship belt.
In case you didn't know...
In a pre-fight drug screening conducted by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, earlier this month, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Jon Jones, was found to have tested positive, yet again, for performance enhancements leading up to his title fight against Alexander Gustafsson.
A picogram of Chlorodehydromethyltestosterone (DHCMT) or oral Turinabol was caught lingering in Jones' system, which is said to have been from previous ingestion that dates back to his last fight in the Octagon against Daniel Cormier at UFC 214.
Hearing the news, the Nevada State Athletic Commission denied Jones of his license to fight within the state, thereby forcing the UFC to move the UFC 232 event from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, California.
Following the incident, the California State Athletic Commission was quick in agreeing to sanction Jones for his upcoming title fight against Gustafsson, forcing the rest of the fighters on the card to move in accordance to the plans of the promotion.
The heart of the matter
Last Friday, the California State Athletic Commission spoke to MMA Fighting, confirming the salaries that the four fighters on the co-main and main events would receive at the end of the night on December 29th, 2018. Both the light heavyweight competitors, Jon Jones, and Alexander Gustafsson are expected to each earn a purse of $500,000 for the championship rematch.
Women's Featherweight Champion, Cris Cyborg, is also slated to earn $500,000 for her title clash against Amanda Nunes, who will be receiving a cheque for $350,000. The event is set to take center stage at The Forum, in Inglewood, Los Angeles, California, after being moved from the previously decided T-Mobile Arena, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
What's next?
The preliminary and main fight cards for the UFC 232 event promise a great deal of entertainment for martial arts enthusiasts and UFC fans, watching around the world.
Any early predictions for the co-main event and main event title fights, come Saturday night? Be sure to leave them in the comments section below!