''UFC 197: Jones vs. Saint Preux'' was a
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
event held on April 23, 2016, at
MGM Grand Garden Arena
The MGM Grand Garden Arena (originally known as the MGM Grand Garden Special Events Center) is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose arena located within the MGM Grand Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip.
Sporting events
From its opening on December 18, 1993 ...
in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, Nevada.
Background
The event's number was initially planned for an event taking place on March 5, 2016 at
HSBC Arena in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, before being cancelled on December 29, 2015 and moved to MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, to take place on February 6, 2016; the February event became
UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson rather than a numbered pay-per-view after
Vitor Belfort declined to fight
Anderson Silva, and the March show was renumbered as
UFC 196.
The UFC hoped to contest the event at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, in what would be the first event in the state of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
since the state's MMA ban. However, on January 25, it was announced that a preliminary injunction allowing the promotion to hold the event was denied by a federal judge. According to an order issued by New York district court judge Kimba M. Wood, the federal court must first rule on Zuffa's appeal on New York's MMA ban and won't interfere with the enforcement of state law. On February 6, the UFC confirmed the event would take place in
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
.
The event was expected to be headlined by a
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship rematch between then champion
Daniel Cormier and former champion
Jon Jones.
The pairing met previously at
UFC 182
''UFC 182: Jones vs. Cormier'' was a mixed martial arts event held on January 3, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Background
The event was headlined by a Light Heavyweight Championship bout between the champion at that ...
in January 2015 with Jones defending his title via unanimous decision. Subsequent to that victory, Jones was stripped of the title and suspended indefinitely from the UFC in connection with a
hit-and-run incident that he was involved in. Cormier replaced him and went on to defeat
Anthony Johnson at
UFC 187 to win the vacant title.
On March 29, Jones was arrested in
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
on a charge of violating his probation related to his hit-and-run incident in 2015. The arrest took place five days after Jones was cited on multiple traffic charges, including
drag racing
Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most c ...
, exhibition driving,
weaving
Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...
, failing to properly display his license plate and modifying his
exhaust pipe. He agreed to a plea deal and was released on March 31. In a statement, the UFC announced it was "disappointed" with Jones, but the bout would continue as planned. However, on April 1, it was announced that Cormier injured his foot and was out of the planned fight. He was replaced by
Ovince Saint Preux in what became an interim title fight. Anthony Johnson was the original planned replacement, but due to a recent oral procedure, he wasn't able to accept the fight.
A
UFC Flyweight Championship bout between current champion
Demetrious Johnson
Demetrious Johnson (born August 13, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist. He currently competes in ONE Championship, where he is the current ONE Flyweight Champion (135 lb). He is the inaugural and former UFC Flyweight Champion. Known fo ...
and
2008 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling Henry Cejudo co-headlined the event.
In January 2016,
B.J. Penn
Jay Dee "B.J." Penn III (born December 13, 1978) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. Penn competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and in K-1. Penn was the first American Go ...
announced his intentions to return to active competition in the featherweight division after an 18-month "retirement" and was expected to compete at this event. However, Penn's return was delayed after an investigation into recent criminal allegations made against him was launched. After he was exonerated, the UFC announced that he would face
Dennis Siver
Dennis D. Siver (Russian: Дмитрий Сивер, tr. Dmitriy Siver, born January 13, 1979) is a Russian-born German mixed martial artist who competed in the welterweight, lightweight, and featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Champio ...
at
UFC 199
''UFC 199: Rockhold vs. Bisping 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held on June 4, 2016, at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
Background
While this was the first time the organization has held an event at the venue, it was the fifth time that U ...
.
Former
WSOF Women's Strawweight Champion Jessica Aguilar was expected to face
Juliana Lima
Juliana de Lima Carneiro (born March 15, 1982) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and mixed martial artist. She has fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Invicta Fighting Championships.
Mixed martial arts career
Early caree ...
at the event, but pulled out on March 18 due to a knee injury. She was replaced by former
UFC Women's Strawweight Champion
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classes ...
Carla Esparza.
Results
Bonus awards
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:
*Fight of the Night: Danny Roberts vs. Dominique Steele
*Performance of the Night: Demetrious Johnson and Yair Rodríguez
Reported payout
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the
Nevada State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses.
* Jon Jones: $500,000 (no win bonus) def. Ovince Saint Preux: $55,000
* Demetrious Johnson: $195,000 (includes $60,000 win bonus) def. Henry Cejudo: $60,000
* Edson Barboza: $88,000 (includes $44,000 win bonus) def. Anthony Pettis: $80,000
* Robert Whittaker: $60,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus) def. Rafael Natal: $41,000
* Yair Rodríguez: $42,000 (includes $21,000 win bonus) def. Andre Fili: $18,000
* Sergio Pettis: $48,000 (includes $24,000 win bonus) def. Chris Kelades: $12,000
* Danny Roberts: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus) def. Dominique Steele: $12,000
* Carla Esparza: $60,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus) def. Juliana Lima: $14,000
* James Vick: $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus) def. Glaico França: $17,000
* Walt Harris: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Cody East: $10,000
* Marcos Rogério de Lima: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus) def. Clint Hester: $12,000
* Kevin Lee: $48,000 (includes $24,000 win bonus) def. Efrain Escudero: $18,000
See also
*
List of UFC events
This is a list of events held and scheduled by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. UFC's first event, UFC 1, took place on November 12, 1993. Each UFC event contains several fight ...
*
2016 in UFC
Sixteen or 16 may refer to:
*16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17
*one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016
Films
* '' Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film
* ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film di ...
References
{{UFC Events
Ultimate Fighting Championship events
Mixed martial arts in Las Vegas
2016 in mixed martial arts
MGM Grand Garden Arena
April 2016 sports events in the United States