It was far from his most impressive victory, but Jon Jones picked up his 13th straight victory on Saturday at UFC 197 in a clear clean sweep decision over Ovince Saint Preux for the Interim Light Heavyweight Championship.
The fight was a completely one-sided affair, though Jones was a lot more hesitant than usual, especially early, and he admitted as much in his post-fight interview, first handing Dana White the Interim belt back and saying he didn’t want that belt, he wanted his real belt back.
“Maybe I was meant to get in here and get a fight out of the way,” Jones said. “I feel like I maybe used 20% of the technique I know… Everything happens for a reason, maybe I was meant to have a fight before beating DC… My next fight’s going to be a hell of a lot better, I guarantee.”
Despite the fight being less than his best, Jones still pretty much handled his top ten opponent despite being out of action for 15 months, and in the fourth round at least came near stopping the fight. He picked Saint Preux up twice and slammed him down, doing a lot of damage from side control and then the mount, finally getting Saint Preux’s back and landing several more strikes before the horn. He coasted a bit in the fifth, but still dominated overall even in a lesser, rustier performance.
Jones now moves ahead to a rematch with Daniel Cormier, who on commentary for the bout lamented the fact that he lost out on an opportunity to fight the rusty, slightly less effective Jones.
[Photo (c) Mark J. Rebilas via USA Today Sports]
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