Jon Jones felt Super Bowl weekend fight was 'rushing a bit'

Shortly after UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones defended his title for a sixth consecutive time, the promotion announced that Jones' seventh attempt at defending that title would come against Glover Teixeira. The promotion also announced that the fight would anchor the 2014 Super Bowl weekend event from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. One problem, the announcement was a bit premature, and the date and location were both incorrect.

Last week, UFC president Dana White addressed the situation in a media call saying:

That was never, ever a done deal. That's going to be later. That was never a done deal. Our (public relations) people put it out, and they shouldn't have.

The reason it's going to be later than February 1 is because Jones is looking for a little more time off after his five round battle with Alexander Gustafsson on September 21.

Speaking to Newsday, the champion said:

It was just a little too close. I felt like I was rushing a bit, and I talked to my team and everyone suggested I hold off for another month and a half.

Jones hobbled out of the Octagon after the unanimous decision victory over Gustafsson looking all sorts of banged up. He sported a haphazardly placed bandaged over his right eye that kind of stopped the bleeding from the cut Gustafsson opened early in the bout. In addition, Gustafsson also left Jones with a badly swollen mouth. Jones' camp also feared that he had badly injured his foot during the bout.

Both Jones and Gustafsson skipped the post-UFC 165 press conference after their "Fight of the Night" performance, but it wasn't to hit the Toronto club scene earlier than the rest of the fighters on the card. The reason they were absent form their media obligations was in order to make an overnight stop at the hospital, where both fighters eventually received the all clear.

In the big picture, a little extra time off probably isn't too much to ask for from Jones.

White has said the Jones versus Teixeira fight will likely take place in March, but he offered no set date or location. However, White did say that Gustafsson would get a fight around the same time as Jones and if both fighters were victorious, the UFC would book a rematch between Jones and Gustafsson.

More from Bloody Elbow:

• Yushin Okami signs with World Series of Fighting
• UFC 166: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos 3 fight card
• Daily MMA 10/13: Glory 11 highlights, Bellator 103 fight videos, Holly Holm's KO
• Bound by Blood documentary on Frank Shamrock worth a watch
• Glory 11 results: Why Glory may be the next big thing in combat sports