Jon Jones fires back at Alexander Gustafsson

Shortly after it was announced that there had been an ‘atypical finding’ in a Jon Jones drug test, and that the entire UFC 232 card has been moved from Las Vegas to Los Angeles as a result, Jones’s opponent Alexander Gustafsson took to Twitter to assure that he didn’t care what was in Jones’s system, and that he’ll beat him no matter the circumstances.

https://twitter.com/AlexTheMauler/status/1077064742684880896

“Now we all understand why u didn’t take the [VADA] test,” Alexander Gustafsson said to Jon Jones. “U can be on rocket fuel. I’ll still gonna finish u Jon!”

On Monday afternoon, the former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones responded to this comment from Gustafsson.

Bro I took your best punches that first fight, at no point was I phased or dazed by any of them, you were seconds from being TKO’d in the fourth round. You’re delusional #AndStill https://t.co/0K3GubiINL

— BONY (@JonnyBones) December 24, 2018

“Bro I took your best punches that first fight, at no point was I phased or dazed by any of them, you were seconds from being TKO’d in the fourth round,” he said. “You’re delusional.”

As Jones suggests in this comment, he and Gustafsson have fought once before, in the main event of UFC 165, in 2013 in Toronto. On that night, Jones walked away with a unanimous decision win, though many fans felt Gustafsson should have been awarded the decision. Whatever the case, the bout is widely regarded as one of the best in UFC history.

Jon Jones will enter this fight having not fought since July of 2017, when he knocked out Daniel Cormier. Unfortunately, this bout was quickly ruled a no contest when it was announced Jones had failed a drug test. The title was returned to Cormier, and after more than a year of deliberation, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), handed Jones a 15-month suspension. Because this suspension was retroactive to the date of his failed test, he was eligible to compete again at the end of October. He’s 22-1 (1) overall.

Alexander Gustafsson, meanwhile, has not fought since May of 2017, when knocked out Glover Teixeira. With this win, the Swedish contender moved onto a two-fight streak, having also recently bested Jan Blachowicz by decision. Gustafsson is 18-4 overall.

Who do you think will come out on top in the chaos-riddled UFC 232 main event?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 12/24/2018.