The bitter rivals rekindled their feud briefly as Jones jawed at Cormier from a distance as he was leaving the Octagon before giving him the middle finger.
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“I was way too hesitant in there”, Jones said in the post-fight press conference.
A Jones-Cormier rematch could be just what the promotion needs, especially after the UFC 200 card suddenly and surprisingly lost Conor McGregor earlier in the week.
That changed man was originally set to fight Daniel Cormier for the second time tonight in UFC 197 but Ovince Saint Preux was a late replacement due to a Cormier injury. “Come chase this real title, and get beat, and I’ll ship you back to Albuquerque”.
Jon Jones made his return to the Octagon in more than a year Saturday night at UFC 197.
In many ways, Jon Jones is starting anew in his interim light heavyweight title fight at UFC 197. Him and UFC president Dana White both have expressed doubts that Jones would’ve been able to beat him with a performance like this one. “I am grateful for a lot but I am still a little bit disappointed”. “We meet here live from the T-Mobile Arena, the brand new arena out here in Las Vegas, and we unify these titles”.
Meanwhile, St. Preux’s opponent, recently crowned interim light heavyweight champion Jones, gave credit towards OSP’s resiliency and ability to absorb punishment. All my technique, my angles, my ideas, I’ve been working for Daniel Cormier for over seven months.
When it was brought up to him, he acknowledged that he possibly shouldn’t have taken such a prestigious fight after just four bouts in the UFC, the premier league in MMA.
“I’m actually curious to see him fight at 135”, said Cejudo, the youngest American to win a gold medal in wrestling when he did it at 21.
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“Absolutely, I would totally step in to UFC 200 and fill that main event or co-main event slot”, Jones told reporters. Johnson followed Cejudo to the mat, landing a couple more power shots that forced the referee to stop the fight at 2:49 of the round. “I don’t think he’s going to retire”.
