Jon Jones to fight before year is out as comeback opponent and date revealed

Jon Jones will spearhead the UFC's end-of-year card.

Free to fight after seeing his suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency reduced, the former UFC light heavyweight champion will take part in a long-awaited rematch in his comeback bout. Jones will fight Alexander Gustafsson for the second time in the main event of UFC 232 in December and if the pair's second fight is even half as entertaining as their first, we're in for a treat. ESPN's Ariel Helwani was the first to break the news of the rematch of what many fans believe is the greatest UFC title fight of all time. The 205lbs belt will be on the line on December 29, according to the report, as reigning light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier is expected to vacate his title the moment the Octagon door shuts behind Jones and Gustafsson. https://twitter.com/arielhelwani/status/1050096209556373504 Jones has not fought since last July, when his second victory over Cormier was overturned to a No Contest after 'Bones' tested positive for the banned substance turinabol. His suspension was reduced by USADA, with certain reports claiming that Jones received some leeway in return for giving up information about other fighters' use of prohibited substances. Jones has refuted those claims ahead of his comeback against Gustafsson.

"USADA asked me to do a lot of things throughout this case, but one thing I didn’t do is snitch on anybody in MMA," Jones told ESPN. "I definitely didn’t give up any information on anyone in the sport, nor do I know of anybody who’s doing these things in the sport.

"I think the whole snitching thing is pretty silly. It’s interesting to watch people jump to conclusions about things they don’t know what they are talking about."