As UFC gets closer to their 200th pay-per-view and the biggest show in the company’s history, the very precarious nature of champion’s health has once again caused a massive change in the main event of a title fight. In March, it was a leg injury to Junior Dos Santos that changed the course of that show and, quite possibly, Conor Mcgregor’s career. This time, it was the grudge match between Light Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and former champion Jon Jones that has now fallen apart, but not in the way many people expected less than 7 days ago. As a result, Jon Jones will now fight for the interim Light Heavyweight title against top contender Ovince Saint Preux on April 23rd in the main event of UFC 197. It was March 29th when Jon Jones sat in a Albuquerque, NM prison for a number of charges related to drag racing. The mere mention of Jones once again involved with the law started the chatter of a possible fight cancellation, but the charges merely led to an adjusted probation for the former title holder. Instead, a more significant incident was ignored for nearly 2 weeks prior, when Daniel Cormier was spotted at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in New York City with a noticeable limp. With the NCAA Men’s basketball tournament occurring across the country at the exact same time, Cormier was able to duck the spotlight for a few days, but his injury did not heal in time, leading to his stepping away from the title fight. But in a curious occurrence, the fighter considered to be next in line, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, was also unavailable to take up the fight due to an injury, this coming from a recent oral surgery that would prevent him from being able to wear a mouthpiece. With the serendipitous forces in play, the interim title fight was scheduled with the role of Jones’ opponent going to Florida native Ovince Saint Preux, the only other fighter of the top 8 contenders that Jones himself hasn’t already defeated. OSP comes into the fight winning eight of his last ten fights, including his most recent victory over Feijao Cavalante. OSP fought on an ankle that was injured during round 1 and went on to win the fight by unanimous decision. While not looking his best, OSP’s gutsy win over a former Strikeforce champion helped propel him to the top of a small heap of contenders that has been devastated by Jones before the ignominious end to his title reign.
As a result, the main event of UFC 197 now features Jones going up against an experienced fighter, but someone who hasn’t been on pay-per-view in nearly 2 years. OSP usually has a four inch reach advantage over his opponents, but in this fight, he himself will be at a four inch reach disadvantage (84.5″ for Jones, 80″ for OSP). With Jones desperate to prove he can regain the title he never lost, his training has reached a higher level. After his 2nd police incident in 2016, he’s made the smart move of having his nutritionist also operate as his driver so he can focus purely on this month’s fight. Meanwhile, OSP will only have 3 weeks to prepare for the biggest fight of his life. The odds are stacked against OSP but being handed the opportunity of a lifetime, he has nothing to lose. In my opinion, OSP will provide a different kind of test for Jones, who was preparing for an emotionally charged Cormier with Olympic level wrestling skills. OSP is no slouch with a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and can finish a fight, ending 6 of his last 10 bouts. I still think despite all that, however, Jon Jones will walk away from UFC 197 with a share of the Light Heavyweight title due to the motivation of remaining (technically) undefeated and being the pound for pound best MMA fighter in the world. Provided Daniel Cormier does not require surgery, the two can finally meet to determine the undisputed champion, quite possibly at that show of shows, UFC 200 in July. Funny how that can work out.
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Steve TozinA connoisseur of global sports, entertainment, pro-wrestling and mixed martial arts. Archives
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