Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson got the fans hyped up in anticipation to UFC 232

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones (22-1) is set to headline UFC 232 against Alexander “The Mauler” Gustaffson (18-4) in a rematch at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 29th for the soon-to-be vacated light heavyweight title. There are still a few weeks to go until they stand across each other in the octagon, but Jones and Gustafsson gave the fans an early hype in the build up to the fight.

It was just the usual press conference routine as Jones and Gustaffson had a face off in front of a packed crowd at the Madison Square Garden in New York on Friday evening. When they both turned to face the crowd, it was Jones who got the hype started as he partially stepped in front of Gustaffson; drawing laughs from the crowd. Gustaffson responded by doing the same back to Jones and made some contact with his arm against Jones’ in the process.

UFC President Dana white began to step in and had to hold them back from each other after Jones reacted by shoving Gustaffson away. The crowd loved it, as they cheered with some “ohhh’s!!!” and some also clapped. They cheered some more as Gustaffson raised his fists and gestured at the crowd to bring the hype.

Gustaffson and Jones first met in the octagon at UFC 165 in Sep. 2013 for then light heavyweight champion Jones’ title. The contest was an action packed, back and forth slug fest; with both getting the best of each other in a fight that could have gone either way. In the end, Jones won on all three of the judges’ scorecards and remained light heavyweight champion.

Two of the judges scored the fight 48-47, while the other scored it at 49-46; all for Jones. It remains one of the toughest fights of Jones’ career to date. Jones first won the light heavyweight title in March 2011, when he defeated then champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua by TKO in the third round. He became the youngest champion in UFC history at age 23.

Jones went on to successfully defended the title in a division record of eight consecutive times, but began to take a downfall in his career since then. In April 2015, Jones was suspended and stripped of the title after he was arrested on felony hit-and-run charges. He returned for UFC 197 in April 2016 and defeated Ovince Saint Preux by unanimous decision for the interim light heavyweight championship.

UFC 200 was set to be headlined by Jones vs. Cormier in July 2016, with Daniel Cormier’s title on the line. However, Jones was removed from the contest after he failed a USADA drug test just a few days before the fight. He was also stripped of the interim title and suspended by the USADA for a year. Jones then defeated Cormier by KO in the third round for the light heavyweight title at UFC 214 in July 2017.

After the fight, Jones tested positive for Turinabol; an anabolic steroid. As a result, he was stripped of the title yet again and the result of the fight was changed to a no-contest. Cormier was also reinstated as the light heavyweight champion.

Jones will get another shot at the light heavyweight title when he faces Gustaffson at UFC 232. The title is due to be vacated by current light heavyweight champion Cormier, who also holds the heavyweight title.