Jon Jones last fought at UFC 172 in April, defeating Glover Teixeira by unanimous decision. It marked Jones’ 11th straight win and seventh consecutive title defense.
Alexander Gustafsson last fought at UFC Fight Night 37 in early March, beating Jimi Manuwa with a second-round TKO. Gustafsson earned both Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night for his efforts.
However, before each of those fights, Jones and Gustafsson had a battle at UFC 165 for the light heavyweight title that will be remembered for a long time.
In a back-and-forth war, one which earned Fight of the Night and topped UFC.com’s list of the best fights in 2013, Jones edged Gustafsson 48-47, 48-47, 49-46. Many felt the fight could have gone either way.
Gustafsson is now in place for a second shot at the title, but Jones has been completely quiet as of late.
The UFC announced the fight Saturday. Gustafsson has verbally agreed to the fight, but neither of these happenings have phased Jones, and he still hasn’t accepted the match.
The issue isn’t that he hasn’t agreed to the fight; instead, it’s that he also hasn’t turned it down, a delay which is causing issues.
The plan was to have the fight headline UFC 177 on August 30 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. If there continues to be no progress made, then the organization, according to Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com, may consider a September stadium show in Sweden.
Gustafsson gave Jones the toughest fight of his career, which gives Jones all the more reason to want a second fight. It could be a chance to win convincingly and prove his doubters wrong.
If he turns down the fight, then he’s only going to look scared of the rematch; after all, it wouldn’t be the first time he turned down a big fight.
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