When Alexander Gustafsson became the first man to give Jon Jones a serious challenge for his light heavyweight title back at UFC 165 on Sept. 21, 2013, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, it was clear the two would need to run it back in a rematch.
Not immediately, of course. No, the two would each have to clear a hurdle first.
Gustafsson did as much when he stopped Jimi Manuwa at UFC Fight Night 37 back on March 8 in London. As for Jones, well, he battered and bruised Glover Teixeira en route to a decision victory (watch highlights here) at last night's (April 26) UFC 172 pay-per-view (PPV) in Baltimore.
That paved the way for the rematch and, according to UFC President Dana White at the post-fight press conference, that's exactly what we're getting.
"Gustafsson gets the next fight against Jones. We gotta see how that plays out. I don't know, physically, how Jones is right now."
White would later say the rematch may take place in a big stadium in Sweden, which would be Gustafsson's backyard.
"Sometimes you've got to do what you've got to do. We don't ever have people say, ‘This is where I'm going to fight my fight.' It's never happened. It won't happen. We've got to take the fight wherever the fight is going to do the best. ... This thing could do 50 or 60,000 seats or more. If we go to Europe to do it, we will (do the rematch in a stadium in Sweden)."
Surely that will please "The Mauler", who has been open in his criticism of Jones, outright stating he believes the champion is ducking him.
He's gotten under "Bones'" skin so much, in fact, that any questions pertaining to this fight were brushed aside condescendingly:
"I don't really want to talk about... uh... I don't want to talk about that kid at all. I'm not going to talk about him at all. No, man, I'm having a good time. I just won a fight. ... I'm not going to talk about what's going on next right now."
This is going to be a lot of fun.