Despite the fact that UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has already talked about the possibility of heavyweight and superfight matchups (via Sherdog), he still doesn’t believe he’s cleaned out his division yet.
“Bones” mentioned surging 205-pound contender Alexander Gustafsson and former PRIDE and Strikeforce champion Dan Henderson as two opponents he is currently interested in fighting.
The Greg Jackson’s MMA standout said as much in a Sportsnation chat with ESPN Tuesday afternoon. When asked if there was any fresh face he’d like to meet in the cage, Jones responded with Gustafsson.
“The Mauler” is the winner of six straight, including four finishes, recently defeating former UFC champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC on FOX 5 in December.
Coming in at No. 2 on the UFC’s official light heavyweight rankings, Gustafsson was supposed to welcome former Strikeforce title holder Gegard Mousasi at UFC on FUEL 9 earlier this month.
However, the Swedish MMA Federation would not clear Gustafsson to fight due to a cut suffered over his right eye (via MMA Junkie) and was instead replaced by teammate Ilir Latifi, who lost a lop-sided decision.
Additionally, Jones said he would be interested in fighting Henderson, should he be victorious over Rashad Evans at UFC 161 in June.
“Depending on how he does against Rashad Evans, yes,” Jones wrote in response to a question asking if he’d still like to fight Henderson at some point in his career.
Prior to a close decision loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 157 in February, “Hendo” had won four straight and was set to face Jones for the light heavyweight strap at UFC 151 in September. However, Henderson suffered a knee injury shortly days before the event and the show was ultimately cancelled as a result (via UFC.com).
Are Jones vs. Gustafsson or Jones vs. Henderson matchups still worth seeing in the UFC’s light heavyweight division?
Of course, this discussion could be all for naught if Jones can’t get past Chael Sonnen in the main event of UFC 159 this Saturday, which takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show.
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