UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is on the clock.
Early, but erroneous reports had Jones defending his title against Glover Teixeira on February 1, 2014 in the main event of UFC 169. However, Jones nixed that idea, saying he felt that the early February date, which happens to be on Super Bowl weekend, was "rushing a bit" after his five-round battle with Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165.
Jones' unanimous decision victory over Gustafsson marked the sixth defense of the title he took from Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in March 2011. According to Jones' manager Malki Kawa, who recently spoke to Ariel Helwani, if Jones has his way, that seventh defense will come in late February or March 2014.
Barring a huge shakeup or the dreaded training camp injury, that defense will come against Teixeira. Teixeira, the No. 2 ranked fighter in the UFC's light heavyweight division has not been beaten since joining the promotion in May 2012, putting together a record of 5-0. Teixeira (22-2) has an overall unbeaten streak of 20 straight fights. Teixeira's last defeat came in March 2005.
Kawa said that a "best case scenario" would have Jones facing Teixeira in March, but that the champion would not be against headlining UFC 170. UFC 170 is booked for February 22 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
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