The UFC received scads of exposure in the week leading up to UFC 197 except there was just one problem…none of the attention had anything to do with UFC 197.
The dissonance between Conor McGregor and his bosses completely overshadowed the fact Jon Jones, perhaps the greatest fighter ever, was returning from a 15-month layoff. Not to mention the fact flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, also considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound mixed martial artist on the planet today, was fighting on the card against Olympic gold medallist Henry Cejudo.
Didn’t matter. All anyone was talking about was McGregor and UFC 200.
McGregor had been scheduled as the headlining act in a rematch against Nate Diaz. However, UFC president Dana White announced the promotion had officially removed that fight from the July 9 event after McGregor refused to fly to Las Vegas to take part in promotional events.
White explained at a Friday press conference that he would try to find Diaz a new opponent, but Diaz replied by saying if he doesn’t get McGregor he’s going to take a vacation.
So with that fight seemingly no longer an option for the prestigious card, the UFC found itself in a bind. Although it looks as though that bind was a short-lived one.
With Jones earning a dominant unanimous decision (and subsequently an interim title) over Ovince Saint Preux at UFC 197, it sets up a title unification bout with current light-heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier.
A Jones-Cormier fight is the only matchup the UFC could realistically put together that carries enough clout to replace McGregor-Diaz and it appears as though that’s what’s going to happen.
“If they’re both healthy ya it’s a possibility that could be the main event for 200,” White told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto following the fights Saturday.
Early indications are that Jones only suffered bumps and bruises in his fight with Saint Preux and he told reporters after his win that he “would like to fight at UFC 200.”
Cormier, who withdrew from UFC 197 in early April with a leg injury, said during Saturday’s post-fight show that he is scheduled to meet with his doctor Monday. He added that he is willing to fight Jones at UFC 200 if he gets cleared to resume training.
If Jones, Cormier and White are all on board and this bout comes together it would be the best way to soften the blow of losing McGregor-Diaz.
UFC 100 was headlined Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir II. It was a grudge match. It was a rematch more than a year in the making. It was a title unification bout.
Jones vs. Cormier II ticks all three of those boxes. It would be fitting, poetic even, for UFC 200 to follow the same mould.
