UFC interim light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was notified of a potential doping violation Wednesday night, ruling him out of his bout with Daniel Cormier in the main event of UFC 200.

    UFC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, is an American mixed martial arts promotion company.

    UFC president Dana White made the announcement in a hastily called news conference. White said he was at dinner at Stripsteak at Mandalay Bay when he got the news shortly before 7 p.m. Pacific time.

    Jones could face a two-year sanction if found guilty of the violation.

    White said Jones has a chance to prove himself innocent, but said he didn’t know if Jones had requested the B sample to be tested.

    Under the policy, which is the same as is done in the Olympics, Jones has the right to have his B sample tested to make sure the results are consistent.

    When an athlete is tested, the sample is split into A and B bottles and the B sample is held in the event the A sample becomes positive.

    Though the UFC did not announce what Jones tested positive for, it would have to be a performance-enhancing drug that is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s prohibited list.

    Jones pleaded guilty to driving under the influence in 2012, and had a hit-and-run auto accident in 2015. Later that year, he got into a widely publicized argument with an Albuquerque police officer, when he was pulled over in a traffic stop.

    His fight with Cormier was the main event of what was to be the biggest show of the year.

    (SD-Agencies)