Jon Jones will make his return to the octagon at UFC 232 in a title bout for the Light Heavyweight championship currently held by Daniel Cormier. However, Jones won't be fighting DC because the two-division champ will be stripped of the belt prior to the December 29 PPV in Las Vegas. Instead, Jones will be taking on Alexander Gustafsson and the winner will be crowned the new Light Heavyweight champ.
Jones, 31, has not competed in the UFC since July of 2017, when he defeated Cormier by way of a third-round knockout to win the light heavyweight title back at UFC 214. The result was later ruled a no-contest due to Jones' failed drug test, and he was suspended for 15 months for violating the UFC's anti-doping policy for the second time. His suspension will officially come to an end on October 28.
Jones and Gustafsson have not faced each other since 2013, when Jones retained the light heavyweight belt in a narrow unanimous decision. Since then, Gustafsson has gone 3-2, including a split-decision loss to Cormier in a title fight at UFC 192. His last fight in 2017 ended with a knockout win over Glover Teixeira.
According to MMA Junkie, the UFC 232 currently looks like this:
- Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson – Light Heavyweight Title
- Cris Cyborg vs. Amanda Nunes
- Corey Anderson vs. Ilir Latifi
- Ryan Hall vs. B.J. Penn
- Arnold Allen vs. Gilbert Melendez
- Michael Chiesa vs. Carlos Condit
Meanwhile, the UFC has also announced that Daniel Cormier will be defending his Heavyweight championship against Derrick Lewis at the UFC 230 PPV at Madison Square Garden next month.