Gustafsson Agrees to Jones Rematch on Aug. 30; UFC Hopes to Ink Champ to New Deal

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Alexander Gustafsson has signed on for a return date with Jon Jones; now the UFC needs to get the light heavyweight champion on board.

That involves more than just getting Jones to sign a bout agreement.

ESPN.com on Saturday reported that Gustafsson has verbally agreed to face Jones at UFC 177 on Aug. 30, and UFC President Dana White later confirmed that report. However, the promotion is still working on signing Jones to a new contract.

“We just signed Gustafsson to a new deal, and Jones is getting a new deal too,” UFC President Dana White told reporters at during the UFC 173 post-fight scrum. “We don’t have a deal done yet, so we’ll see what happens.”

While UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta told ESPN that the bout was being targeted for MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, a venue for the proposed 205-pound title rematch has yet to be decided.

“We still might do Sweden,” White said. “We’re working on it.”

Jones and Gustafsson first met at UFC 165, with the 6-foot-5 Swede giving “Bones” the toughest test of his career before losing a narrow five-round decision. Since then, Jones captured a dominant unanimous verdict over Glover Teixeira at UFC 172 in April, while Gustafsson earned a technical knockout triumph against Jimi Manuwa at UFC Fight Night London in March.