Matches to Make After UFC 197

Jon Jones spent his 25 minutes with Ovince St. Preux knocking off the rust from a 15-month layoff that was the result of his own doing. Jones laid claim to the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title with a unanimous decision over St. Preux in the UFC 197 main event on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. “Bones” pitched a shutout on all three scorecards: 50-44, 50-45 and 50-45. Jones has won 13 fights in a row since being disqualified against Matt Hamill at “The Ultimate Fighter 10” Finale in December 2009. St. Preux, who served as a short-notice fill-in for injured light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, enjoyed little to no success. According to FightMetric data, Jones delivered nearly twice as many significant strikes, 105-57, and total strikes, 111-58, connected at a much higher percentage, 66-35, and completed three of his five takedown attempts. He was at his best in the fourth round, where he landed 15 more strikes than St. Preux threw, executed two takedowns and passed guard three times. In wake of UFC 197 “Jones vs. St. Preux,” here are five matchups that ought to be considered: Related » By the Numbers: UFC 197 Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier: In his first appearance since Jan. 3, 2015, Jones looked superb at times, pedestrian at others. Nevertheless, the 28-year-old left the cage with a lopsided win over a top 10 opponent under less-than-ideal circumstances. Jones remains the standard by which all other light heavyweights are measured — a true pound-for-pound great who has traversed his 23-fight career untouched, save for his disqualification loss to Hamill and …

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