UFC 197 Results: Jon Jones Returns, Demetrious Johnson Dominates

UFC 197 Results: Jon Jones Returns, Demetrious Johnson Dominates

The greatest light heavyweight fighter to ever compete inside the Octagon made his highly anticipated comeback as Jon Jones returned to action at UFC 197 on

Apr 24, 2016 by Duane Finley
UFC 197 Results: Jon Jones Returns, Demetrious Johnson Dominates
The greatest light heavyweight fighter to ever compete inside the Octagon made his highly anticipated comeback as Jon Jones returned to action at UFC 197 on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

After a year filled with turmoil and strife outside the cage, the pound-for-pound great stepped in against Ovince Saint Preux for the interim title in the division he once championed. While the 28-year-old New York native’s performance wasn’t on par with the dominance he’s shown in the past, Jones was plenty effective en route to earning the unanimous decision victory over a game competitor in Saint Preux.

Jones’ success at UFC 197 puts him on yet another collision course with current champion Daniel Cormier. A rematch between the heated rivals was initially slated for the main event on Saturday night’s card, but the former Olympian was forced to withdraw due to injury. There is yet to be an official timeline set for Cormier’s recovery, but there’s no question his next showing will come against Jones in a bout to unify the light heavyweight title.

While there is debate surrounding who is the true champion of the 205-pound fold, there is zero doubt about Demetrious Johnson being the undisputed king of his division. The only man to ever hold the flyweight strap under the UFC banner put on yet another dominating performance as “Mighty Mouse” drubbed challenger Henry Cejudo to earn a first-round TKO victory.

Cejudo’s Olympic credentials and wrestling pedigree led many to believe he would pose the biggest threat to Johnson’s title reign, but the Washington State native proved otherwise as he dispatched the gold medal winner in quick and violent fashion. Johnson’s win at UFC 197 was his eighth consecutive title defense, which puts him third on the all-time list behind Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva.

Several interesting tilts filled out the rest of the card and the results are posted below.

Jon Jones def. Ovince Saint Preux via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-44, 50-45)
Demetrious Johnson def. Henry Cejudo via TKO (strikes) -- Round 1
Edson Barboza def. Anthony Pettis via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Robert Whittaker def. Rafael Natal via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Yair Rodriguez def. Andre Fili via KO -- Round 2
Sergio Pettis def. Chris Kelades via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Danny Roberts def. Dominique Steele via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Carla Esparza def. Juliana Lima via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
James Vick def. Glaico Franca via TKO -- Round 1
Walt Harris def. Cody East via TKO -- Round 1
Marcos Rogerio de Lima def. Clint Hester via submission -- Round 1
Kevin Lee def. Efrain Escudero via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)