With his victory over Chael Sonnen at UFC 159, Jon Jones retained his light heavyweight title and further cemented himself as one of the best fighters on the planet.
It seems Jones will be on the shelf for at least a little while following the win, due to a toe injury suffered during the bout. But he already knows who he wants to take on when is he able to return: He wants Alexander Gustafsson.
Gustafsson has not competed since last December. He had been scheduled to compete opposite Gegard Mousasi earlier this month, but had to withdraw days before the fight because of a cut suffered in training. Had he fought and won the bout, he may have officially earned a shot at Jones.
Before Gustafsson‘s April mishap, perennial contender Lyoto Machida had already been cited as the next challenger for the title, but as we’ve learned many times in the past, such promises count for surprisingly little.
What’s safe to say is that when Jones heals up, he will probably face one of Gustafsson or Machida in his return match, unless the dream scenario plays out and he is handed Anderson Silva. Since we’ve already seen Jones vs. Machida, Jones vs. Gustafsson seems the more intriguing bout between the two likeliest of possibilities.
How would such a match go?
Well, here we will take a look and examine how it would be likely to play out. We will assess which fighter has an edge in each of the striking, wrestling and submission areas of the game, and use those assessments to project the fight’s probable winner.