The #2 ranked fighter in the Light-heavyweight division Alexander "The Mauler" Gustaffson has been calling and protesting for a well-deserved shot at the title all throughout the course of the year as the division was in limbo after the current UFC Light-heavyweight champion Daniel "D.C." Cormier moved up to heavyweight to defeat Stipe Miocic for the UFC Heavyweight Championship and became a 2 division champion.
No one really knew what was going to happen considering the huge weight cuts that Daniel Cormier would have to make between defending both belts. As time went on and the mix martial arts world was waiting to see what was going to happen with the Light-Heavyweight division, Alexander Gustaffson had a fight with former title challenger Volkan Ozedemir at UFC 227 but that fell through after both fighters would eventually gain injuries during camp.
News would then break that the former 2-time UFC Light-heavyweight Jon "Bones" Jones would be making his return later in 2018. That is when the speculation would begin about what is going to happen with the belt. It would then become pretty clear that Daniel Cormier was gonna stay at the Heavyweight division even though he wanted to defend both belts.
The announcement would then be made that the #2 ranked Light-heavyweight Alexander "The Mauler" Gustaffson will face the returning #1 ranked Jon "Bones" Jones for the UFC Light-heavyweight Championship as Daniel Cormier will be stripped for the belt as soon as the bout starts. This is easily one of the biggest rematches in the history of the UFC. It already has a Fight Of The Year vibe going for it as we get closer to UFC 232 on December 29th.
Alexander Gustaffson has continued to make it a point that to him it is more than winning the championship with this particular fight. He wants to redeem the loss that Jones gave to him in their first fight at UFC 165. He also wants to become the one who was the first to defeat and finish Jon Jones as it will be quite the task. That is the biggest thing for himself including adding the title of the UFC Light-heavyweight Championship to his resume.
The last time we saw Alexander "The Mauler" Gustaffson was when he took on Glover Teixeira at UFC Fight Night 109 in a Fight Of The Night performance. After completely outstriking Teixeira for 5 rounds, Alexander brutally knocked out Glover in the 5th round after a series of uppercuts to solidify his spot in the division.
The former 2-time champion Jon "Bones" Jones was last in action when he took on Daniel "D.C." Cormier in their classic rematch at UFC 214 when he defeated Cormier by Knockout after landing a perfect head kick. That decision would then be overturned when Jon Jones tested positive for Turinabal after the bout and they also stripped him of the championship before then returning the belt to the now double champ of 2 divisions Daniel "D.C." Cormier. UFC 232 will not be a PPV you wanna miss.