After Daniel Cormier pulled out of their UFC 197 main event, Jon Jones needed a new opponent. He would ultimately be paired against Ovince Saint Preux, with Jones cruising to a unanimous decision victory.
You can catch Jones’ Octagon interview from that bout below followed by an article where Jones was in hot pursuit of a new opponent.
The following article is presented to you courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED APRIL 2, 2016, 2:39 PM]
Headline: Jon Jones Extends Open Challenge To Keep UFC 197 Main Event Alive
Jon Jones has finally broken his silence regarding the unfortunate news that Daniel Cormier has pulled out of their scheduled rematch for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at the UFC 197 pay-per-view scheduled for later this month.
The news was broken on Friday that due to an “undisclosed injury,” Cormier was forced to pull out of the Jones rematch at UFC 197 on April 23rd.
It had been feared that due to Jones’ ongoing legal issues, he would force a cancellation to the highly-anticipated Jones-Cormier rematch. However in the end, it was the return of the “injury bug” that forced the fight to be scrapped.
On Saturday, “Bones” Jones took to social media to comment on the fact that Cormier pulled out of their fight.
“I don’t wish injuries on anyone,” wrote Jones on his official Twitter page. “I hope you have a healthy recovery Daniel. Enjoy that belt.”
Jon Jones may have appeared to be the “bad guy” heading into the original UFC 197 main event, but he is certainly looking more and more like the “good guy” as we sit and wait to find out if we have a new UFC 197 main event.
“Bones” Jones took to his official Instagram page on Saturday afternoon to post a video of himself extending an open challenge to keep the UFC 197 main event alive.
Jones stated the following in the video, which you can watch below:
“Hey, y’all know I’m not into taking last-minute fights. 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’ve got a heavyweight, light heavyweight, it doesn’t matter. Let’s keep this main event going. Send them my way.”
UFC 197 takes place on Saturday, April 23, 2016, from Las Vegas, Nevada.