Although it appears that Jon Jones will still be able to fight Daniel Cormier in the scheduled UFC 197 main event, another UFC Light Heavyweight contender is making sure he’s ready to go just in case “Bones” is unable to make the walk to the Octagon on April 23rd.
Blackzilian fighter Kamaru Usman told MMAFighting.com this week that his teammate, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, is making sure to be in shape in case another 205’er is needed on 4/23.
“Anthony has been ready,” said Usman. “He stays in the gym. He comes in and gets a session here and there. But he’s one of those guys that you can just throw in and say, ‘hey, we need to go fight,’ and he’s ready to go. So Anthony is ready just in case. Ultimately he’s going to be the guy who steps in there. But I can tell you this: he’ll be ready.”
Usman continued, “You don’t want to wish something negative on guys, because he’s a very respectful guy. But, this is the fight business. Things happen all the time. And so Anthony is one of those guys, he is going to be ready. Whether something happens or not, he is going to be ready for that. He would love that Daniel Cormier fight back.”
Headlined by Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier II for the UFC Light Heavyweight title and featuring Demetrious Johnson vs. Henry Cejudo for the UFC Flyweight title, UFC 197 takes place on Saturday, April 23, 2016 from Las Vegas, Nevada.