Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson 2 official after 'Bones' settles contract dispute for UFC 178 on Sept. 27 in Toronto
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has not one, but two signatures for the Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson light heavyweight championship rematch for the upcoming UFC 178 pay-per-view (PPV) event, which takes place on Sept. 27, 2014 inside Air Canada Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Their bout was originally planned for UFC 177 on Aug. 30 in Las Vegas, Nevada, but Jones preferred a later date.
"Bones" met with UFC brass earlier today (June 6) in "Sin City" to iron out the remaining sticking points. His John Hancock will likely bring closure to a month of unhappiness for promotion president Dana White, who is no stranger to public spats with his young phenom.
Hey, it could have been a lot worse.
"There was never an issue with a contract," Jones told UFC.com. "I was traveling and finally got to Vegas and got to talk with Dana and Lorezno. We talked and September 27th, I'll be fighting Gustafsson."
After a dominating five-round unanimous decision win over Glover Teixeira last month in Baltimore, Maryland, Jones (20-1) initially refused to "talk about that kid" and instead set his sights on a 205-pound title defense against undefeated Olympian Daniel Cormier.
Because it's his career, not yours.
"I think Cormier is the tougher fighter, but the fans want to see me fight Gustafsson," Jones continued. "There was never an issue with taking the Gustafsson fight. The issue was that my brother is getting married in July and I would have preferred a later date."
UFC was willing to stipulate and Gustafsson (16-2) will now get the next crack at the crown after a razor-thin unanimous decision loss at UFC 165 in September of 2013. In his first fight since taking Jones to the limit, "The Mauler" held up his end of the rematch bargain by blowing away Jimi Manuwa in the UFC Fight Night 37 event last March.
Can the towering Swede finish what he started?
No other bouts have been announced for the UFC 178: "Jones vs. Gustafsson 2" event, but now that we have an official headliner, you can expect those match ups to start rolling in sooner, rather than later.
Happy now?
