Now that UFC Fight Night 86 — which went down earlier today (Sun., April 9, 2016) in Zagreb, Croatia — is in the books (results here), it’s time to look ahead to Ultimate FIghting Championship’ (UFC) next pay-per-view (PPV) event.
And it’s a big one.
UFC 197 is set to to pop off on April 23, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada and will feature an interim Light Heavyweight title fight as former division champion, Jon Jones, faces off against Ovince Saint Preux in the headlining bout.
It’s a fight that came to be after current champ Daniel Cormier was forced out of his much-anticipated rematch against “Bones” with a knee injury (details here). That’s when “OSP” jumped at the opportunity of a lifetime and stepped in on three weeks notice to challenged one of the best of all time.
Fresh off a unanimous — albeit lackluster — win over Rafael Cavalcante, Saint Preux will look to catch his first-ever title and a chance for a unification match against “DC” with an upset win over Jones.
As for Jon — who’s had a bumpy road to his much-anticipated comeback — he’ll look to put all his personal demons to bed (for the time being) as he looks to prove to the mixed martial arts (MMA) world he is still the best light heavyweight fighter in the business.
Of course, if he beats “OSP,” he still has to take care of Cormier to prove just that.
In the co-main event scrap, Demetrious Johnson will defend his Flyweight belt for the eighth time against wrestling powerhouse Henry Cejudo. Plus, Anthony Pettis and Edson Barboza will collide in an intriguing Lightweight scrap.
Expect more promotional videos to be rolled out as event draws nearer. In the meantime, to check out the most up-to-date fight card click here.