Jon Jones opens as -675 favorite to down Ovince Saint Preux at UFC 197

As expected, Ovince Saint Preux is not being given much of a chance by bookmakers to upset Jon Jones when the two meet in the main event of UFC 197. He did open, however, as a smaller underdog than the man who gave Jones arguably the stiffest test of his career.

Saint Preux is stepping into the fight on short notice following Daniel Cormier’s injury withdrawal from the event, which takes place April 23 from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The interim light heavyweight title bout between Saint Preux (19-7 MMA, 7-2 UFC) and Jones (21-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) will serve as the main event of the pay-per-view main card, which follows prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Jones opened as a -675 favorite to win the interim strap in his first match after his suspension for a hit-and-run incident this past April. He has quickly moved to -800, meaning an $800 bet on the former champ would only return a profit of only $100.

Saint Preux opened at +450, meaning a $100 bet would return a profit of $450. He has moved to +500 as early money came in on Jones.

For comparison, Alexander Gustafsson, who pushed Jones harder than anyone else in his career, opened as a +500 underdog. It’s unclear if “OSP” opened as a smaller underdog because of Jones’ recent legal distractions, his layoff, the stylistic matchup or a combination of all these factors, but the odds are likely to continue to shift in the weeks before the fight.

And for more on UFC 197, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.