Jones vs. St. Preux UFC 197 Pick
One of the all-time great fighters in UFC history makes his return to the octagon tonight as Jon Jones faces Ovince St. Preux at UFC 197. Can Jones return with a win?
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This fight will be a five-round bout for the UFC Interim Light Heavyweight Championship. According to the oddsmakers at BetDSI, Jones is the clear favorite in the fight, as he has a money line of -550 to win, while St. Preux has odds of +400 to win. This fight is the main event of UFC 197, which takes place from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event airs live on PPV at 10PM ET.
Jones (21-1) hasn’t fought since Jan. 3 of 2015. He was the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, but stripped of the title due to issues away from the cage. He was reinstated over the last year and was scheduled to face the current champ, Daniel Cormier, but Cormier injured his knee in training. Jones really hasn’t lost in his career, as his lone loss was a DQ on a technicality of an illegal strike. St. Preux (19-7) steps in for Cormier tonight, and is a quality opponent, but is stepping up in competition in a big way.
OSP is a big guy with some heavy hands, but Jones is the much longer fighter. Jones will have a tremendous reach advantage as he has very long legs and long arms. Along with that, he is a tremendous wrestler. Jones should be plenty fresh and healthy, but could suffer from some ring rust for being away for 16 months. Still, his talent level will be far ahead of OSP and he can handle the pressure of the situation. St. Preux will likely be overwhelmed. While he may come out strong and ride that early emotional wave, once that passes, Jones will be able to control him from there. Look for Jones to dominate after the early stages and eventually score a submission win in the third round.
UFC 197 FREE PICK: JON JONES -550
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