Victory over Saint Preux has seen Jones, 22-1, capture the interim light-heavyweight title and set up a unification fight with his bitter rival Daniel Cormier.
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As the UFC belt was presented to Jones after Saturday’s fight, he declined to put it on, saying, “It’s not the right belt”.
Jones tried to bring the fight to the ground in the fourth round, but Saint Preux fought off the attempt with an impressive scramble. Moreover, he apparently did it with a broken arm in the final two rounds. He acknowledged it in the post-fight interview and press conference. Zonar said that the arm injury was sustained in the second round of the match and is unsure whether a surgery will be needed for fix. Jones kept Saint Preux at a distance with a variety of leg kicks throughout the first round.
The light heavyweight stud said after the fight was over his shin and foot were both swollen from all the shots he threw at Saint Preux. “Ovince Saint Preux smartly took advantage of this and initiated him filling in and getting this opportunity”.
However, White has already warned McGregor that if he doesn’t add clarity to the situation surrounding his retirement quickly, he will strip him of the featherweight title and that the UFC 200 match-up between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar would be for the vacant belt.
“I go to the doctor on Monday”, Cormier said. I’ll be there with my championship belt, with my red wraps on my gloves as I come out second and you wait for me to walk to the octagon.
Maybe Jones is lucky that he didn’t face Cormier in his first bout back?
Jones went clean and sober for the past seven months as he regained his focus in an effort to reclaim the title he never lost in the cage, but an injury to current champion Cormier forced a change to the UFC 197 main event three weeks ago. The switching up of opponents could have been a reason for the NY native’s performance, according to Jones.
However, Jones looked rusty and appeared to lack confidence in what was an untidy fight.
The judges scorecards read; 50-44, 50-45 and 50-45.
OSP is a big guy with some heavy hands, but Jones is the much longer fighter.
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His challenge today only lasted one round, with opponent Henry Tejudo, a wrestling gold medallist at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, losing via TKO.
