Jon Jones 1.17 To Win in Return Fight to UFC

Published on April 20th, 2016 8:07 pm EST
In the main event of this weekend's UFC 197 event, former Light Heavyweight champion Jon "Bones" Jones will return to the Octagon against Ovince St. Preux.

This wasn't the fight that was supposed to take place in the UFC 197 main event. Originally, Jones was supposed to square off against arch-nemesis Daniel Cormier, though an injury to Cormier forced him off of the card. Ovince St. Preux, who is one of the top fighters in the Light Heavyweight division, offered his services on short notice and was given the fight.

Despite the fact that Jones hasn't fought in over a year due to his legal issues, he is still the clear favourite to win the fight. Here are the current odds:

Jon Jones, 1.17
Ovince St. Preux, 5.00

According to these odds, Jones is the overwhelming favourite to win. It's not hard to see why - Ovince St. Preux is certainly a talented fighter, though it's hard to imagine where he would be better than Jon Jones. In addition, Saint Preux has losses to Glover Teixeira and Ryan Bader on his record, two fighters that Jones has already emphatically beaten.

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The one question mark heading into this fight is the amount of ring rust that Jones has following his extended layoff. On the other hand, people argue, the trials and tribulations that he has endured over the past year plus have probably made the former champion hungry once again, and that is a scary proposition for the rest of the division.

On top of that, with the UFC pulling Conor McGregor from UFC 200 yesterday, there is a strong possibility that the Daniel Cormier vs Jon Jones fight will be made for UFC 200, provided that Jones is able to beat Ovince St. Preux.

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In short - don't bet the farm on Saint Preux, as he will almost certainly be overwhelmed in this fight by the former champion.