Jon Jones makes promise to former opponent Alexander Gustafsson

Earlier this week, two-time light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson appeared on the JRE MME Show to discuss all things MMA. One of the topics that came up, unsurprisingly, was troubled former champion Jon Jones, who Gustafsson lost a close and controversial decision to in the year 2013.

On the show, Gustafsson assured that, should he and Jones meet again in the future, he’ll come out on top. Evidently, Jones caught win of these comments, as he quickly went after his Swedish rival on Twitter.

@AlexTheMauler Beat me in three? Your hands were the only thing you had over me in our first fight. That gap is closing fast. Our first fight will be the greatest thing you’ve ever done inside of that octagon. You will never beat me, that’s my promise to you.

— BONY (@JonnyBones) April 20, 2018

“Beat me in three?” Jones said on Twitter, responding to Gustafsson’s comments. “Your hands were the only thing you had over me in our first fight. That gap is closing fast. Our first fight will be the greatest thing you’ve ever done inside of that octagon. You will never beat me, that’s my promise to you.”

While Gustafsson believes he can defeat Jones, he remains quite complimentary of the former champion. Speaking on the JRE MMA Show, the Swede assured that Jones doesn’t need any of the performance-enhancing drugs he’s tested positive for, due to his incredible gift for fighting. In fact, Gustafsson still considers a win over Jon Jones to be the be the biggest accomplishment possible at light heavyweight.

“I’m telling you, that guy is such a beast,” Gustafsson said of Jones. “It’s so stupid because he’s the best guy, pound-for-pound, out there. He’s done things nobody else has done. He’s just a beast and still, shit just comes up all the time. He doesn’t even need that steroid. He doesn’t need that shit in him. He’s still the best guy out there.”

“Fighting him and beating him, that’s bigger than taking the belt right now, that’s how I feel,” he continued. “Look at what he did to [Daniel Cormier]. And DC is tough. He finished DC. That’s just insane.”

Alexander Gustafsson just signed a brand new UFC contract. Jon Jones, meanwhile, is currently awaiting his punishment from USADA, having failed another drug test in July of 2017.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/20/2018.