UFC 232, which is scheduled for December 29 in Las Vegas, Nevada, just got a whole lot bigger. The card will now officially feature a light heavyweight rematch between former champion Jon Jones and long-time contender Alexander Gustafsson. The bout will be for the vacant light heavyweight title, which implies that divisional champ Daniel Cormier, who also owns the heavyweight title, will soon be stripped.
All of this per ESPN.
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
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Jon Jones will enter this fight having not fought since July of 2017, when he knocked out Daniel Cormier. Unfortunately, this bout was quickly ruled a no contest when it was announced Jones had failed a drug test. The title was returned to Cormier, and after more than a year of deliberation, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), handed Jones a 15-month suspension. Because this suspension is retroactive to the date of his failed test, he’ll be able to fight as soon as the end of this month. He’s 22-1 (1) overall.
Alexander Gustafsson, meanwhile, has not fought since May of 2017, when knocked out Glover Teixeira. With this win, the Swedish contender moved onto a two-fight streak, having also recently bested Jan Blachowicz by decision. Gustafsson is 18-4 overall.
Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson first met in the main event of UFC 165, in 2013 in Toronto. On that night, Jones walked away with a unanimous decision win, though many fans felt Gustafsson should have been awarded the decision.
Who do you think will come out on top when Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson rematch at UFC 232?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/10/2018.