The eagerly awaited light-heavyweight title rematch between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson will have to wait as word emerges that the Swedish challenger has picked up an undisclosed injury and has had to withdraw from the UFC 178 event on September 27th.
It’s a big blow for the UFC as this looked set to be the biggest fight of the year, but they have ensured that fans will still have plenty to look forward to at the Las Vegas event by drafting in current No.2 ranked contender Daniel Cormier to fight Jones for the title instead.
Cormier had been scheduled to undergo knee surgery this month, but luckily for the promotion he hasn’t gone under the knife yet and so he’ll postpone the procedure until after the title shot the former Strikeforce heavyweight tournament champion has been so eager to obtain.
‘DC’ has yet to taste defeat in his 15 fight MMA career, including four wins to date in the UFC’s Octagon over notable opponents like Frank Mir, Roy Nelson and Dan Henderson.
Jones will also be pleased about the switch as he had actually been campaigning to fight Cormier next before UFC president Dana White stepped in and insisted that he take the rematch with Gustafsson first due to the close nature of their first encounter last year.
With Jones Vs Cormier now installed as the new UFC 178 headliner, the event still looks like a must-watch show on pay-per-view with the main card also featuring Dominick Cruz’s long awaited return to action against Tatseya Mizugaki, Tim Kennedy Vs Yoel Romero and the much talked about Conor McGregor taking on his toughest challenge to date in the shape of Dustin Poirier.
