Jon Jones was last night crowned the interim light heavyweight champion after his first fight with the UFC in 476 days.
Jones produced a dominant performance to see off the challenge of Ovince Saint Preux to claim the title via unanimous decision.
The 28-year-old had been scheduled to fight Daniel Cormier for the title of which he was stripped a year ago after being involved in a hit-and-run incident, but the defending champion was forced to pull out due to injury, forcing Saint Preux to step in on short notice.
IT'S TIME! @JonnyBones vs @003_OSP... #UFC197 https://t.co/6uCvnXbTO3
— BT Sport UFC (@btsportufc) April 24, 2016
Despite a commanding performance, Jones was unable to secure the knockout over his opponent but his striking accuracy was enough to see him rack up points on the judges' score cards.
Jones excelled even after his 15 month absence from the octagon, using a mixture of hard body kicks, long arching punches and powerful takedowns.
After 476 days away from the Octagon, @JonnyBones is back with a decision victory. #UFC197 #AndNew https://t.co/VW2S4V0wAu
— BT Sport UFC (@btsportufc) April 24, 2016
"I don’t think I want that belt, it’s not the real belt," Jones said after the fight, "I want my actual belt back.
"It definitely took me a while to pull the trigger tonight and I felt like I used 20 percent of the technique I actually know."
Welcome back @JonnyBones! #UFC197 https://t.co/1KGVZkrEwg
— BT Sport UFC (@btsportufc) April 24, 2016
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