“DC” Gives Pick For Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson II
Daniel Cormier may have his hands full with Derrick Lewis next month (Sat. November 3, 2018), but that doesn’t mean he’s not keeping an eye on the light heavyweight division.
Currently, Cormier holds both the light heavyweight and heavyweight titles for the UFC. He is preparing to defend the heavyweight title against Lewis at UFC 230 in Madison Square Garden. While Cormier handles business in the heavyweight division, the 205-pound class will move forward.
It has been announced that the returning Jon Jones will face Alexander Gustafsson for the light heavyweight title. Once the first punch is thrown in the fight, Cormier will be stripped of the 205-pound title. That fight will take place in Las Vegas at UFC 232 on December 29th.
Speaking on “The MMA Hour” recently, Cormier offered his pick for the fight. Despite his heated rivalry with Jon Jones over the years, Cormier picked “Bones” to emerge victorious (via MMA Mania):
“I think Jones wins the fight. I have never once shied away from the fact that he’s a fantastic fighter. He is a really talented guy. He obviously can go with me, keep up with me, he has obviously put in a lot of hard work, so, he must be a hard worker in that sense,” he said.
“I know that Alex, for as good as he is, too, Alex struggles in the big moments. This is a really, really big moment and he is going to have to fight to his level or above his level to try and win.”
Jones and Gustafsson will rematch their initial meeting from 2013. The two main evented UFC 165 and put on one of the best fights in UFC history. Jones took home a controversial unanimous decision win over Gustafsson to retain his then-light heavyweight title.
The two match-up extremely well stylistically, with Gustafsson being one of few men to be able to match Jones’ amazing size and build. After almost six years since fighting, it will be intriguing to see how the fight plays out.
