UFC 232: 5 Reasons why UFC were right to move the event to Los Angeles, California

Jon Jones is indeed controversy's favorite child. The former Lightheavyweight champion has landed in yet another drug testing pickle but this time around, he isn't the only one who will have to suffer.

In case you didn't know what happened, let's get you up to speed. Jones tested positive for a very minute amount of Turnabol from a test conducted on December 9th. Strangely enough, it's the same substance that got him banned for one and a half years.

The Nevada Athletic State Commision may have barred the contentious former champion from returning in Las Vegas but have granted him the permission to withdraw his fighting license. The California State Athletic Commision deemed the drug traces to be too minuscule and allowed Jones to fight in the state. Thus, the entire card has now been shifted to The Forum in Inglewood, California.

Yes, you read that right, the UFC just changed the venue to accommodate Jones in the final card of the year. We feel sorry for the ticket holders of the original Las Vegas card, the logistics team of the UFC, and of course, the other fighters on the card. Absolute shambles!

While it may all seem like an enormous misstep on the UFC's part, there are still many reasons that justify the decision taken by Dana White and co. The incoming criticism too has its own merit but we would rather focus on the positive takeaways from the highly precarious circumstances.

So let's break them down.

#1 Jon Jones stays on the card

Is Jones a victim of a misunderstanding?

Before you jump to conclusions and label him a cheat, which he surely is in the eyes of the fans, Jones is faultless in the prevalent scheme of things.

As stated by the USADA, the traces of Turnabol is a petite residue from his earlier tryst with the anabolic steroid in 2017 for which he was rightfully punished. We're talking in picograms here and in case you're wondering, that's 1 trillionth of a gram. But, is it actually possible to find 'residual amounts' 18 months after the ingestion?

Anyway, getting punished for such a small quantity would have been criminally harsh on Bones, who has underlined the fact that he is a clean athlete in his statement in the wake of the unearthed mess. Jones is inarguably a massive draw for the UFC and losing him days before the closing card of the year would have hurt the company from a business standpoint. UFC doesn't want any sort of bad press, especially after UFC 233 being canceled.

The show must go on, and while UFC could have done without the polarizing star with an impromptu replacement opponent for Gustafsson, that would have just taken the entire sheen off the card.

#2 Preserving a bumper card to end the year

Continuing in the same vein as the previous point, UFC 232 has been billed as the perfect card to end an exceptionally lucrative year for the UFC.

Jones vs. Gustafsson II was on the wishlist of every MMA fan and to see it get canned days before the event would have been an intolerable bummer.

Given that the card looks solid from top to bottom, scraping the headliner itself which has been in the works for five years would have been an inauspicious end to the year. Jones may be one of the most disliked figures in the UFC for his blemished past, but who doesn't want to see him back in the Octagon, eh?

In the present context, a majority of the fans may just want him to get smashed by 'The Mauler'. However, hardcore fanboys of Jones will continue to envision a triumphant comeback.

UFC may have incurred heavy losses for the change of venue but it may all be worth it as long as we don't see a major change in the card.

#3 UFC and USADA showing the willingness to bend the rules

Dana White has come out in support of Jones in the turbulent phase.

Jones isn't the only one who is getting trashed from all corners of the MMA fraternity as the UFC and USADA are also being called out for their conspicuous inconsistencies.

For once, there is some clarity in the mishmashed functioning of the UFC and the anti-doping agency. The USADA, for whatever reason, is willing to make an exception to entertain one their most dubious clients, who surprisingly, even has the backing of Dana White this time around. The official reason for the relaxed stance of the USADA has been attributed to the small amounts of Turnibol in Jones' system. However, can that be passed off as the authentic reason or is there more to this than meets the eye?

USADA's credibility has already taken various hits in the past but this is surely a first. For all intents and purposes, the one thing we've learned from all this is that the USADA is more than willing to rewrite the rules in order to protect a major star which would inadvertently save one of the most important cards of the year.

#4 The fight remains the same and so do the respective gameplans

December 29th couldn't have come any sooner!

Gustafsson was supposedly relishing a ride over the Grand Canyon when the news of UFC changing venues spread like wildfire. Ideally, he should have been the first person to be informed about the change but most likely would have been the last. In hindsight, it could have been much worse for the Swedish shootfighter.

A replacement opponent would have been a more troublesome proposition for him as Gustafsson's camp preparations for Jones would have become redundant. The same goes for Jones who has been training to beat the only man who has made him look vulnerable in his entire career.

For Jones though, his fight is now against his detractors as well as the guilt-tripping voices in his head. The fingers are solely pointed on Bones at the moment. Even a man of his caliber won't be able to steer clear from the thoughts of being responsible for the collective turmoil and cometh the day of the fight, he would want to prove his innocence by putting on a dominant performance.

Gustafsson will be even more focused in his bid to come out on top against a distracted Jones. The Mawler has only the fight to worry about but Jones, well, will enter the Octagon with a lot of extra baggage.

#5 More hype for the main event, but what about the other fights?

Cyborg vs. The Lioness could take home the Fight of Night Honors.

It's actually a blessing in disguise that the other fights on the card would seemingly fly under the radar while the spotlight shines on the strife that engulfs the main event.

Remember UFC 189 when Conor McGregor beat Chad Mendes to become the Interim UFC Featherweight Champion? The co-main event that night featured a neglected bloodbath between Robbie Lawler and Rory McDonald. The iconic stare down and the relentless Welterweight back-and-forth fight still took a backseat to the Conor McGregor show. Lawler and McDonald weren't just there to push each other to ostensibly lethal limits but also to overshadow the Irish megastar's growing mainstream clout. And what the fans got was the fight of the year!

The same can be expected from the co-main event of UFC 232 which is billed as the fight to determine the greatest female fighter in MMA history. Amanda Nunes vs. Cris Cyborg has all the making of a classic fight and considering the existing situation, we expect the women to come out all guns blazing.

That isn't the only fight though, which could dwarf the Light heavyweight main event on December 29th. Have a look at the card and feel free to mention your predictions in the comments section below.

Undercard

Megan Anderson vs. Cat Zingano

Andrei Arlovski vs. Walt Harris

B.J. Penn vs. Ryan Hall

Brian Kelleher vs. Montel Jackson

Petr Yan vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade

Uriah Hall vs. Bevon Lewis

Curtis Millender vs. Siyar Bahadurzada

Nathaniel Wood vs. Andre Ewell

Main Card

Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson (UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Fight)

Cris Cyborg vs. Amanda Nunes (UFC Women's Featherweight Championship Fight)

Carlos Condit vs. Michael Chiesa

Ilir Latifi vs. Corey Anderson

Chad Mendes vs. Alexander Volkanovski