Alexander Gustafsson Injures Knee; Jon Jones Now Faces Daniel Cormier at UFC 178

Daniel Cormier is ready for his shot at UFC gold. | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced on Wednesday that Gustafsson has suffered a knee injury and is out of the UFC 178 headliner. Jones will instead defend his light heavyweight belt against Daniel Cormier in the evening’s main event.

UFC 178 takes place at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sept. 27 and also includes a featherweight tilt pitting Dustin Poirier against Conor McGregor. The card also features the return of former bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz, as he takes on 135-pound contender Takeya Mizugaki.

Cormier, a two-time Olympian, is unbeaten in his MMA career and owns victories over Dan Henderson, Patrick Cummins, Roy Nelson and Frank Mir in the Octagon. The American Kickboxing Academy stalwart was expected to undergo surgery to repair a torn LCL and partially damaged ACL in his right knee, but apparently those plans have been put on hold.

Jones, who recently arrived in Albuquerque, N.M., to begin his camp, last fought at UFC 172 in April, when he captured a dominant unanimous verdict against Glover Teixeira. Originally, Jones hinted that he preferred to face Cormier before a return date with Gustafsson, although the champ eventually agreed to a rematch with the Swede.