After Daniel Cormier pulled out of his UFC 197 matchup with Jon Jones, the former champ made it clear he’s willing to fight anyone on April 23.
Jon Jones has been known in the past as someone not willing to accept late replacement fights when his opponents get injured but the former UFC light heavyweight titleholder is changing things up.
UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier was forced out of his title rematch with Jones, which was scheduled to headline UFC 197 later this month, due to injury.
On Saturday, Jones left a message on Instagram stating he’s willing to fight anyone at UFC 197, including a heavyweight fighter.
“Hey, y’all know I’m not into taking last minute fights,” he said. “It’s not the way me and my trainers do things. But this last year has been real crazy and I feel like I owe my fans so much. So, UFC, whether you got a heavyweight, light heavyweight, it doesn’t matter. Let’s keep this main event going. Send ’em my way.”
A replacement for Cormier has not been officially announced by the organization, although BJPenn.com, the website that broke the injury news on Friday, recently reported that top contender Anthony Johnson has been contacted by the UFC to fill in and face Jones on short notice.
UFC 197 takes place live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 23. Also scheduled for the card is a flyweight title fight between champ Demetrious Johnson and Henry Cejudo. If a replacement is not found in time, Johnson vs. Cejudo will likely be elevated to main event status.