UFC 197 set for April 23 in Vegas with Cormier-Jones 2, Johnson-Cejudo title fights

Jon Jones’ return to the octagon is official. The former UFC light heavyweight champion will attempt to regain the belt he never lost in the cage when he faces current titleholder Daniel Cormier in a rematch at UFC 197 on April 23.

Complimenting the 205-pound grudge match between Cormier (17-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) and Jones (21-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena will be a flyweight title contest. Reigning 125-pound champion Demetrious Johnson (23-2-1 MMA, 11-1-1 UFC) will look for his eighth consecutive title defense against undefeated challenger Henry Cejudo (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC).

The UFC announced both fights during tonight’s UFC Fight Night 82 broadcast on FOX Sports 1.

Jones, who’s ranked No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA light-heavyweight rankings, defeated No. 2-ranked Cormier via unanimous decision at UFC 182 in January 2015. However, when Jones was stripped of his title and suspended following an April hit-and-run arrest, Cormier claimed the vacant belt with a submission win over No. 3-ranked Anthony Johnson the following month.

Cormier earned a successful defense of the title against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 192 during Jones’ absence, but when “Bones” was reinstated for competition in October, it set up the opportunity for a rematch of Cormier’s lone career defeat.

Demetrious Johnson, No. 1 at flyweight, will hope to hand No. 4-ranked Cejudo his first career defeat in what could potentially be the most difficult fight of his more than three-year title reign. “Mighty Mouse” is undefeated at flyweight and owns victories over the likes of John Dodson, Joseph Benavidez, Ian McCall and Kyoji Horiguchi, but Cejudo presents a different threat.

Along with his undefeated MMA record, “The Messenger” won a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing. The 28-year-old has won three consecutive fights in the UFC at flyweight, the most recent of which was a split decision over Jussier Formiga at UFC Fight Night 78 in November.

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