St. Preux will be J. Jones' new opponent at UFC 197. Photo: Buda Mendes/UFC
Ultimate acted quickly and has already announced its new rival Jon Jones at UFC 197, an event that takes place on April 23, in Las Vegas (USA). After Daniel Cormier be forced to abandon his second title defense due to injury, the show's organization acted quickly and called the Haitian Ovince St Preux to face Jones for the interim light heavyweight belt. The fight was announced on the North American ESPN program SportCenter.
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Late this afternoon (02), Jones had already announced that would continue in the event and even accept to face an athlete from the heavyweight division.
UFC president Dana White even said that Anthony Johnson, second in the category ranking, was even considered for the clash. But as he underwent mouth surgery in the last few days, he won't even be able to wear a mouthguard for the next few weeks.
White also defended the creation of the interim belt, considering that Jon never lost the title in the octagon, but had the belt taken away due to problems outside of it.
“Jon never lost his title in the Octagon, he was stripped of his title because of problems on the outside. We think it’s the right thing to do (interim belt). It's not your fault Cormier is injured. So he fights for the interim light heavyweight belt and, when Cormier comes back, they decide who the real champion is,” Dana explained.
Ovince St Preux
A Haitian based in the United States, St. Preux will have the biggest chance of his career against Jon Jones. Ovince, who is ranked sixth in the category, has a professional record of 19 wins and seven losses and has won seven of his last nine fights in the cage.
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