Newly crowned UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is still weighing the options for his next fight, but he’s not shutting down the possibility of a rematch with Alexander Gustafsson.
“Every fight gets my blood flowing,” Jones told MMAjunkie. “I know how important it is to never underestimate anyone. I get up for every one. I think the Gustafsson fight is an option for us right now. We’re just going to wait and see. We’re weighing our options right now.”
Jones said his preference going forward is to stay active. He’s targeting a return before the end of the year, but the opponent, date and location are still up in the air, he said. The UFC has five more pay-per-view events remaining on the 2017 calendar, but the one Jones surprisingly is not interested in goes down in his home state of New York.
UFC 217 takes place Nov. 4 in New York City. Jones said he once had dreams and aspirations of fighting at Madison Square Garden, but over time those apparently have fizzled. He said fighting in New York doesn’t make sense from a financial perspective, so whether his next fight is against Gustafsson or someone else, don’t expect it to go down in “The Big Apple”
“To be honest, I love being from New York, but my whole thoughts and dreams of fighting in New York – they’re kind of starting to fade,” Jones said. “Looking at it from a business standpoint, it’s not a really good idea to pay 9 percent to the state of New York off the top just for fighting here. With 9 percent of every $1 million, that will add up real quick."
UFC champ Jon Jones open to Alexander Gustafsson rematch – but not in New York City
