UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has pulled out of his UFC 197 main event bout against former UFC champion Jon Jones due to an injury and stepping up on three weeks notice to face Jones will be Ovince Saint Preux.
The fight change was announced by UFC President Dana White on ESPN today and the bout between Jones and Saint Preux will be for the interim UFC light heavyweight title.
UFC 197 will come from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 23 and along with the interim light heavyweight title bout, the co-main event will also be a title fight as Demetrious Johnson defends the UFC flyweight title against Henry Cejudo.
Saint Preux (19-7) is coming off a win against Rafael Cavalcante by decision at UFC Fight Night 82 in February and he has won three of his last four fights. He is 7-2 since entering the UFC in 2013 and five of those victories have come by stoppage. Jones (21-1) will be stepping into the UFC octagon for the first time since the beginning of last year, which was a decision victory against Cormier. Shortly after that victory, Jones was stripped of the UFC title and suspended by the promotion due to his issues away from the sport.
The current UFC 197: Jones vs. Saint Preux fight card is below.
Main Card: (PPV – 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT)
Jon Jones (21-1) vs. Ovince Saint Preux (19-7)
Demetrious Johnson (23-2-1) vs. Henry Cejudo (10-0)
Anthony Pettis (18-4) vs. Edson Barboza (16-4)
Robert Whittaker (15-4) vs. Rafael Natal (21-6-1)
Yair Rodriguez (6-1) vs. Andre Fili (15-3)
Preliminary Card: (FS1 – 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT)
Sergio Pettis (13-2) vs. Chris Kelades (9-2)
Danny Roberts (12-1) vs. Dominique Steele (14-6)
Jessica Aguilar (19-5) vs. Juliana Lima (8-2)
Glaico Franca (13-3) vs. James Vick (8-0)
Preliminary Card: (UFC Fight Pass – 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT)
Marcos Rogerio de Lima (13-3-1) vs. Clint Hester (11-5)
Efrain Escudero (24-10) vs. Kevin Lee (11-2)