Dana White has wasted no time in getting former UFC champion Jon Jones back into the octagon now that his suspension is almost up. Earlier today, ESPN’s Ariel Helwani confirmed that Jones would be facing Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232, which will take place in Las Vegas on December 29.
Breaking: Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson 2 is set for UFC 232 on Dec. 29 in Las Vegas. More: pic.twitter.com/sB49isFzFZ
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 10, 2018
This won’t be the first time these opponents will have fought each other — they originally squared up in September of 2013, and Jones defeated Gustafsson via a narrow unanimous decision. This fight will be for the light heavyweight title, which Daniel Cormier currently occupies (Jones defeated Cormier in July of 2017, but was stripped of the title after testing positive for banned substances; the title was then returned to Cormier). Cormier will be stripped of the title when the Jones vs. Gustafsson fight begins, though he will have a chance to defend his heavyweight title against Derrick Lewis on November 3 at UFC 230.
Jones has been absent from the Octagon since his fight with Cormier due to a 15-month suspension, which began retroactively and ends later this month. Gustafsson has gone 3-2 since his loss to Jones and fought only once in 2016 and once in 2017.
