If all goes according to plan, the next two UFC light heavyweight championship fights after the Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira bout are in place.
Alexander Gustafsson, of course, is expected to face the winner of the UFC 172 main event.
After Gustafsson, according to MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani, the winner of Daniel Cormier vs. Dan Henderson will be next in line. On Wednesday’s edition of UFC Tonight, it was reported that the winner of the Cormier-Henderson fight, which is expected to go down at UFC 175 in Las Vegas, will face the winner of the Jones/Teixeira winner vs. Gustafsson bout.
In September, Jones and Gustafsson engaged in one of MMA’s all-time great fights, won by Jones on a narrow decision. Instead of going to an immediate rematch, the UFC matched up Gustafsson with Jimi Manuwa and Jones with Teixeira. Gustafsson dispatched of Manuwa in brutal fashion last month in London; while Jones and Teixeira will settle business in Baltimore.
Cormier, for his part, has vocally campaigned for a title shot. The 14-0 Cormier came down to light heavyweight this year after a heavyweight stint which included victories over former UFC champions Josh Barnett and Frank Mir. Cormier was scheduled to face another former UFC champion in Rashad Evans in his light heavyweight debut at UFC 170, but instead fought and defeated Patrick Cummins after Evans pulled out of the bout with a knee injury.
Henderson, meanwhile, has a chance to improbably come full circle with a victory over Cormier. The former PRIDE multi-weight class champ was scheduled to meet Jones for the title at the infamous UFC 151, which was cancelled after Henderson pulled out with a knee injury. The 43-year-old Henderson lost three straight fights before defeating Mauricio Rua via TKO last month in Brazil.
History has shown that getting from Point A to Point B in MMA isn’t always cut and dried: consider the case of Anthony Pettis, who was promised the winner of a Frankie Edgar–Gray Maynard title fight in 2011, then had to wait after the two fought to a draw. But in this case, the UFC is planning out Point A to Point B to Point C.