MMA Odds and Ends for Tuesday: Cormier offers OSP training at AKA, Wilkinson released, East fights Harris at UFC 197

Daniel Cormier offers OSP a training camp at AKA to prep for Jon Jones at UFC 197 Injured and off UFC 197, Daniel Cormier was on The MMA Hour Monday and revealed that he’s willing to fly Ovince St-Preux out to San Jose to train at American Kickboxing Academy. Hat tip to Zane Simon of BloodyElbow who has the transcript from Monday’s show “I think there’s a chance for Ovince to have a better shot, but it’s up to him to take it. And that’s why coming here, we’ll open our doors to him, to come and train at the American Kickboxing Academy. I don’t care what happens in the future, I can’t train with Ovince, but I’ve got a guy named Cain Velasquez that can train with him, I’ve got a guy named Luke Rockhold that can train with him, I’ve got a guy named Chi Lewis Parry, I got a guy named Frank Munoz. We’ve got everything in place where he can just take my training camp for the next few weeks Take my training camp, we will take care of it. We’ll fly Ovince and his team out here, we’ll put ’em up, give him a place to stay, because no one in this gym wants to see Jon Jones not have to fight a tough fight on April 23rd. For my pocketbook Jon needs to go out there and win and look great, but we want to give Ovince a chance and every guy on my team, they’re willing to play a part in that. I’ll be one of his coaches. Listen, nobody wants to fight Jon Jones worse than I do. So, if I can live through Ovince on April 23rd, I will live through Ovince on April 23rd. He can take my training camp. I thought that we had, finally, the perfect mixture of what we needed in order for our preparations. So yes, Ovince can have my training camp. All paid for, right out of my checking account. Ovince St. Preux, if you want to come to San Jose, bud, you got a team in the American Kickboxing Academy that’s ready to support you.” However OSP declined the offer in a tweet later that day.

  Cody East signs with UFC, meets Walt Harris at UFC 197 It was revealed Monday that on “Dana White: Lookin’ for a Fight,” the promotion has signed heavyweight Cody East who meets Walt Harris at UFC 197. East (12-1) is coming off a 40 second victory over Kevin Ashland at Legacy FC 51 back in February. That win pushed his winning streak to nine-straight and he hasn’t lost a bout since a 2012 setback to Tony Lopez. Harris (7-4)  has gone 0-3 so far in the octagon with two separate UFC stints. He’s suffered losses to Jared Rosholt, Nikita Krylov and most recently Soa Palelei. The former football player makes his return after almost a year and a half layoff. UFC 197 takes place April 23 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Here’s an updated look at the card. MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET) Jon Jones vs. Ovince Saint Preux – for interim light heavyweight title Demetrious Johnson (c) vs. Henry Cejudo – for flyweight title Edson Barboza vs. Anthony Pettis Rafael Natal vs. Robert Whittaker Andre Fili vs. Yair Rodriguez PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET) Chris Kelades vs. Sergio Pettis Carla Esparza vs. Juliana Lima Danny Roberts vs. Dominique Steele Glaico Franca vs. James Vick PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6:30 p.m. ET) Cody East vs. Walt Harris Clint Hester vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima Efrain Escudero vs. Kevin Lee   Mike Wilkinson released by the UFC Following his unanimous decision loss to Makwan Amirkhani in February, Mike Wilkinson has been released by the UFC. Wilkinson (9-2) revealed the news Monday on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. Wilkinson has a 2-2 octagon record and earned a Performance of the Night bonus with a first-round knockout of Niklas Backstrom in 2014. The 28-year old was a castmate on The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes and joins Jared Rosholt and Norman Parke as recent fighters cut from the UFC.

Written by James Lynch

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