Today in MMA history: Jones-OSP UFC 197 title fight no one saw coming

It's been a full decade since one of the strangest title fights in UFC history – and an event that featured an extraordinary amount of musical chairs. In retrospect, compared to other events that have been scrapped by the promotion, it's a wonder UFC 197 survived. But it did, headlined by an interim light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Ovince Saint Preux in Las Vegas 10 years ago – April 23, 2016.

In the months prior, the UFC was trying to finalize its first event at Madison Square Garden in New York. But a Hail Mary judicial ruling pushed the promotion's New York debut to later in the year, which opened the door for the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Vegas to host the card. But when it came to personnel, things were dicy throughout.

Daniel Cormier was supposed to defend his 205-pound title against Jon Jones in the main event. Jones had been stripped for his hit-and-run incident, and Cormier won it afterward against Anthony Johnson. A month before the fight, Jones ran into more trouble with the law and driving and was arrested.

But the fight went on – only to have Cormier pull out the next day with an injury. And suddenly, there was a need for an interim title. Jones, naturally, was one-half of the equation.