Jon Jones
LAS VEGAS – In his return to the octagon after more than a year, former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones mostly cruised past Ovince Saint Preux on Saturday.
The win for Jones (22-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) over Saint Preux (19-8 MMA, 7-3 UFC) gave him the UFC’s interim light heavyweight title and set up a title unification fight against champion Daniel Cormier later this year. Jones swept the judges’ scorecards with totals of 50-44, 50-45 and 50-45.
The interim light heavyweight title bout was the main event of today’s UFC 197 event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 197 results include:
- Jon Jones def. Ovince Saint Preux via unanimous decision (50-44, 50-45, 50-45)
- Demetrious Johnson def. Henry Cejudo via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:45
- Edson Barboza def. Anthony Pettis unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Robert Whittaker def. Rafael Natal via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Yair Rodriguez def. Andre Fili via knockout (head kick) – Round 2, 2:15
- Sergio Pettis def. Chris Kelades via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Danny Roberts def. Dominique Steele via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Carla Esparza def. Juliana Lima via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- James Vick def. Glaico Franca via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Walt Harris def. Cody East via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:18
- Marcos Rogerio de Lima def. Clint Hester via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:35
- Kevin Lee def. Efrain Escudero via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
For complete coverage of UFC 197, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Matt Erickson contributed to this report on site in Las Vegas.)