Seventh-ranked light heavyweight Misha Cirkunov, who is currently the highest ranked Canadian fighter in the UFC outside of Georges St-Pierre, said in an interview with TSN last week that he is convinced Jon Jones is a cheater after the former light heavyweight champion was flagged by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for an anti-doping violation for a second time.

“As a fight fan, I love Jon Jones. I think he’s a great fighter. At the same time, as a fighter, I hate to see cheaters get away with certain things,” said Cirkunov. “It’s a true crime, putting performance enhancement in your body and getting stronger. It’s a big fraud.”

Cirkunov has been a strong advocate for USADA and the role it has with the UFC, so much so that he has previously said that they played a role in his re-signing with the UFC despite lucrative offers in other organizations.

“You can look at it like a biological weapon and I think it’s wrong and hopefully justice will be served,” said Cirkunov. “I think certain actions should be taken, otherwise it will set a bad example for the future generations. There should be strict laws and we should follow the laws.”

Cirkunov faces the third-ranked Glover Teixeira at UFC Fight Night in Winnipeg on Dec. 16. The main card airs on CTV2 and TSN5 at 8 p.m. ET, the preliminary card airs on TSN5 at 5 p.m. ET.

Ortega makes a statement with submission victory over Swanson

Brian Ortega showed that he has the potential to be a future featherweight title contender by beating Cub Swanson in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Fresno, Calif., on Saturday.

Ortega, 26, is tied for the second most consecutive wins by finish in the UFC with five.

When the division rankings are released this week, Ortega will be the highest-ranked fighter outside of the injured Frankie Edgar to not have fought current champion Max Holloway.

UFC president Dana White did clarify after the pay-per-view that Ortega won’t skip Frankie Edgar in the queue for the next title shot.

Bonuses and Attendance

On top of his big win over Swanson, Ortega also walked away $100,000 richer after securing both a Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night bonus.

Swanson earned an additional $50,000 with the other half of the Fight of the Night bonus and UFC president Dana White stated that he hoped to reach an agreement to keep Swanson, now a free agent, on the UFC roster.

The final Performance of the Night bonus went to Marlon Moraes for his devastating knockout win over Aljamain Sterling. His bonus was also worth $50,000.

The event at the Save Mart Center drew 7,605 attendees for a gate of $568,290.

Ngannou to challenge for heavyweight title at UFC 220

The UFC confirmed on their Fight Night broadcast that Francis Ngannou will indeed challenge Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight championship at UFC 220 on Jan. 20 in Boston, a fight that was first reported by MMA Junkie.

Ngannou scored a first-round victory over Alistair Overeem at UFC 218 with an emphatic knockout.

Ngannou, who made his UFC debut less than two years ago and has only been training in mixed martial arts for four and a half years, is now 6-0 in the UFC.

The Cameroonian fighter has been labeled a future champion by many and White told The TSN MMA Show in late October that he felt Ngannou could be the organization’s next transcendent superstar.

Ngannou opened as the betting favourite for his UFC 220 main event fight against Miocic.