SUMMARY
This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
MANILA, Philippines – The much-anticipated rematch between UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson will have to wait after the 27-year-old Swedish contender injured his knee in training.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) officials broke the news on Thursday morning (PH Time), confirming that a knee ailment has forced Gustafsson to pull out of his championship clash against Jones in the main event of UFC 178 on September 27 (September 28 in PH) at the 16,800-capacity MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Gustafsson (16-2) has won seven of his last eight outings inside the Octagon and holds significant triumphs over James Te Huna, Matt Hamill, Thiago Silva and one-time UFC titleholder Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
Since his mixed martial arts (MMA) debut in November 2007, 13 of his 16 wins have ended by stoppage with ten of them coming by way of knockout.
“The Mauler” earned another shot at the UFC gold by stopping Jimi Manuwa via second-round technical knockout (TKO) at UFC Fight Night 37 this past March.
As a result of the unfortunate incident, former heavyweight fighter Daniel Cormier will take Gustafson’s spot at the pay-per-view event to challenge for Jones’ light heavyweight belt.
Cormier (15-0), the 2012 Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix winner, has long expressed his interest in locking horns with Jones and made the move down to 205 pounds earlier this year with the sole intention of a title showdown.
A two-time representative of the United States wrestling team in the Olympics, “DC” is unbeaten in his MMA stint and owns notable victories over Dan Henderson, Patrick Cummins, Roy Nelson and Frank Mir.
The 5-foot-11 grappler was expected to undergo surgery to repair a torn lateral collateral ligament (LCL) and partially damaged anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee, but those plans have been put on hold.
On the other hand, Jones (20-1) became the first light heavyweight competitor in UFC history to make seven successful title defenses by carving out a lopsided unanimous decision victory over Glover Teixeira at UFC 172 in April.
The 6-foot-4 “Bones” first held the golden strap when he finished Rua with a third-round TKO onslaught at UFC 128 in March 2011 and went on by beating the likes of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Gustafsson and Teixeira.
Originally, Jones preferred to square off with Cormier before altering his stance in favor of battling Gustafsson for a second time.
The current ruler of the 205-pound weight class encountered the most crucial test of his prizefighting career in defeating Gustafsson by close unanimous decision at UFC 165 in September of last year.
As of the moment, company executives have yet to disclose Gustafsson’s timetable for return to action. – Rappler.com
Add a comment
How does this make you feel?
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.