After Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones faced his toughest test to date against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165, the UFC chose not to book the immediate rematch. Instead of Gus, Jones was slated to face Glover Teixeira for his next title defense. Teixeira earned his spot as challenger with a 6-fight win streak in the Octagon, five of those fights being finished inside the distance.
It’s been no easy task trying to schedule the bout, however. The fight was first set for UFC 169, but was moved due to scheduling conflicts. After being reset to UFC 170, lingering injuries from Jones forced another postponement. Finally, according to Ariel Helwani on UFC Tonight, the date has finally been set.
The unanimous decision win over Gustafsson in September earned Jones the record for most title defenses in the 205 lb. division. In 14 UFC fights, Jones has only lost once, a DQ to Matt Hamill after a dominating performance prior to the illegal blows. In Glover’s last fight he bested Ryan Bader in a wild brawl that ended with a first round KO.
No other fights have yet been booked for the UFC 171 card on March 15.