Dana White was in the mood to hand out some presents to MMA fans overnight. The UFC president was buzzing around the media room in the buildup to the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, California this weekend and he was giving the assembled press pack exactly what they wanted. Announcements galore.
First up was the fight that everyone was expecting but that we thought we might have to wait a few more months for. Jon Jones is back and he's going straight for a rematch with Daniel Cormier. Jones hasn't fought since defeating Cormier in their light heavyweight title fight at UFC 182 back in January 2015.
Well publicised 'disciplinary' issues saw him stripped of his title but now he's getting a chance to win that back and it will 'probably' happen in April. White was speaking to At The Buzzer on Fox and the issues surrounding the hosting of UFC 197 means that it can't yet be announced definitely but White was fairly clear that the rematch is happening.
Straight from @ufc President @danawhite: @JonnyBones vs. @dc_mma 2 is happening.
Maybe sooner than you expected.https://t.co/E08VQsdDbp— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) February 3, 2016
The problem with 197 is that the UFC had been looking to hold it in Madison Square Garden on April 23rd, the first show in New York since the state clamped down on MMA. As of this moment, that's not going to happen so a new venue will probably have to be sorted out but fans can be fairly certain that it's going to happen at some stage in April.
As if that wasn't enough, White moved on to another interview and dropped a second bit of news. Rockhold vs Weidman, the rematch, is happening at UFC 199 in June. The fight of night at UFC 194 was enthralling stuff and fans will no doubt be delighted to see if Weidman can regain his middleweight title after that somewhat surprising defeat back in December. We'd suggest that whatever happens, we probably won't be seeing another spinning back kick from the former champ.
.@katienolan with another scoop! @LukeRockhold will rematch @ChrisWeidmanUFC in June #GTLive https://t.co/FPRrmAP9og
— Garbage Time (@GarbageTime) February 3, 2016
Also announced last night was the fact that UFC Fight Night Brazil has been changed to UFC 198 according to reports in Brazil. Fabricio Werdum vs Stipe Miocic will now be the headline bout with the former main event, Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza vs Vitor Belfort being moved to the co-main event.
