It’s been said that former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, can’t bust a grape. Judging by his press conference shove last week in New York City (watch it), he may not be able to shove one, either.
That’s according to Alexander Gustafsson, who rematches “Bones” for the vacant 205-pound strap in the UFC 232 pay-per-view (PPV) mixed martial arts (MMA) event, scheduled for Sat., Dec. 29, 2018 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada (more on that here).
“I don’t know [why he shoved me]. He just did that, and the only thing I noticed was that I wasn’t impressed by his power at all,” Gustafsson told The MMA Hour. “Whatever Jon comes with — he says he didn’t train for the first fight, whatever, I don’t care — I really hope he brings his A-game. I really hope he brings his best to the table, because I’m getting ready for the best. I don’t want to hear any excuses after I beat him.”
Gustafsson (18-4) probably came closer than anyone in his quest to defeat Jones (22-1, 1 NC), whose sole defeat came in a disqualification against Matt Hamill way back in 2009. In fact, their first go-round at UFC 165 was so brutal, both combatants “felt like that were going to die.”
It’s hard to know what fans will get from either fighter now five years after they first went t war. Gustafsson competed just once over the past two years due to injuries and Jones was sidelined in summer 2017 after failing a drug test.
To see who else is fighting at UFC 232 click here.