UFC 197 Rumors: Daniel Cormier Injures Leg, Ovince Saint Preux to Fill in Against Jon Jones
Jon Jones' highly anticipated fight in UFC 197 against light heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier will no longer push through as the latter suffered an injury that was deemed by his camp as something that will prevent him from giving Jones a competitive match. According to multiple reports, the champion has an injury to his shin.
Cormier's injury was first reported by BJPenn.com and was later confirmed by several sources, revealing that the rematch scheduled on the 23rd of this month has been scrapped. But perhaps the only good news to come out of this news is that Jones is still willing to fight regardless of who the UFC will throw in.
Saint Preux Steps In
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In a rather quick move, UFC President Dana White announced that Jones will still be fighting in the card and that he will be going up against Ovince Saint Preux. Accordingly, the fight will be for the interim light heavyweight title, according to MMAFighting.com. The fight will likewise be the night's main event.
Jones has been waiting for so long for the rematch against Cormier, but that needs to wait once again. The 28-year old is a former light heavyweight champion himself, but he actually never lost his title inside the Octagon. He was stripped of it because he had to deal with so many different issues outside of the sport, particularly an arrest and subsequent charges after a hit-and-run incident last year. He held the UFC light heavyweight title during the time of his arrest, so the UFC had no choice but to strip him of it while also suspending him for six months. During his brief pause in mixed martial arts and the UFC, Cormier got the opportunity and won the vacant title against Anthony Johnson at UFC 187 – the same fight card where Jones was supposed to defend his title.
