UFC president Dana White set the record straight on Monday: The reason light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has yet to sign a bout agreement to defend against Alexander Gustafsson, tentatively scheduled for Aug. 30 in Las Vegas, is he prefers to face Daniel Cormier. White added that the champion and promotion are not currently in contract negotiations; Jones is currently under contract with UFC.
White revealed the news on UFC.com.
"Just to clear up a couple things, people think we're in contract negotiations with Jon Jones - we're not. Jon Jones still has five fights left on his contract," White said Monday afternoon in an exclusive interview with UFC.com. "So what we're doing right now is trying to get him to sign the bout agreement for Gustafsson. He doesn't want to fight Gustafsson. ... Lorenzo and I have a meeting with Jones on Thursday to get him to sign the bout agreement, and he's asking to fight Cormier instead."
Gustafsson cemented his position as a top 205-pound contender in September 2013 when he gave Jones the most difficult fight of his career at UFC 165. Jones won the fight by a razor-thin unanimous decision.
CORMIER WILLING TO FIGHT GUSTAFSSON IF JONES DECLINES
Gustafsson (16-2) got back in the win column during his next outing, beating Jimi Manuwa by second-round TKO in March.
But as impressive a showing as Gustafsson put on against Jones (20-1), Cormier, arguably, has looked more impressive as a pro. The former heavyweight contender was on the verge of a title shot in that division, but opted to drop to 205 when his close friend and training partner, heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez retained the belt at UFC 166 - dominating Junior dos Santos en route to a fifth-round TKO.
Before that fight, Cormier said repeatedly that would never fight Velasquez. Cormier, however, vowed that he would have remained at heavyweight to face dos Santos had Velasquez been dethroned.
Shredding more than 30 pound to compete at light heavyweight has not hindered Cormier's abilities in the cage. In his 205-pound debut Feb. 22, Cormier stopped Patrick Cummins by first-round TKO.
But it was his second light heavyweight appearance that proved Cormier is as much the force in his new division as he was in his previous weight class - an eye-popping submission victory over Dan Henderson on May 24 at UFC 173 grabbed Jones' attention.
It didn't hurt that Cormier has publicly called out Jones. And Cormier's performances inside the Octagon have served to further whet the public's appetite for a bout with Jones.
Cormier, 35, so wants a title belt around his waist that he recently told SportsWorldNews.com that he'd be willing to fight Gustafsson for the interim UFC 205 title, if Jones refused to sign to face Gustafsson.
However, Cormier (15-0), had no way of knowing at the time of his statement that Jones was already pining to fight him instead of Gustafsson. He also could not know that White hasn't shut the door on Cormier-Gustafsson.
If Jones doesn't sign the contract, who knows, Cormier vs. Gustafsson could be the move, White reportedly told UFC.com.
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