The UFC has made a tradition of putting on big shows during Super Bowl weekend, so it came as no surprise when Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira was floated to headline UFC 169 next year.
Only speculation that the light heavyweight title tilt would act as the Saturday night lead-in to the big game proved premature. Jones vs. Teixeira will not in fact be a part of the February card. It is now surmised that the two will hook em’ up in March.
So why has what may be the biggest fight on the UFC docket been pushed back? According to the champ himself, it’s a timing thing.
During an interview with Newsday, Jones explained that his five-round epic with Alexander Gustafsson has him on the mend, and the extra rest will do him wonders.
“It was a little too close,” he said of Super Bowl weekend. “I felt like I was rushing a bit, and I talked to my team and everyone suggested I hold off for another month and a half.”
The change of plans stretches what would have been a four-month break into (what looks like) a five-and-a-half-month break.
“That last fight was a lot,” Jones admitted. “I’m a young guy and I don’t think it’s really necessary to rush anything. I was more sore than ever before.”
“Bones” claims that his body is, on the whole, feeling fine and dandy, but his foot is giving him some issues. While there is no structural damage, he asserts his “foot is not 100 percent.”
Though some may feel Jones’ unwillingness to fight at UFC 169 is unreasonable, it’s hard to criticize given that he is the only one who truly knows the state of his body. Nevertheless, that is unlikely to stop people from recalling that other time Jones decided he didn’t want fight on a certain date.
Of course, this is much different, and the UFC has plenty of time to put together a legitimate UFC 169 main event.
It shouldn’t be long before we know who we’ll be watching Super Bowl Saturday, nor should it be long before we learn precisely when Jones vs. Teixeira will actually happen.
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