Jon Jones Expects First Title Defense in Autumn Against Machida or Rampage

Current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has been making headlines this month with the news that he would not require surgery and that he could return to training within the next month.

Jones had pulled out of his title fight with Rashad Evans because he tore some of the tissue in his thumb from his title fight with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Now Evans will fight the highly talented youngster Phil Davis at UFC 133 in Philadelphia.

Now that Jones has been cleared for training, the champ is already looking forward to who his first title defense will be against and when it will be happening, according to Fighters Only Magazine.

Jones revealed in an interview that his next title defense will be against either Lyoto Machida or UFC 130 headliner Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Jones would go on to say that the fight will most likely happen in mid October.

Both former champs could pose problems for Jones if given the opportunity. Machida is well known for his strike and elude technique, where he moves in and out quick enough that his opponent cannot counter.

The Brazilian rejuvenated his career in his last fight against legend Randy Couture. Machida landed an amazing flying front kick that knocked out Couture and sent Captain America into retirement. Machida quickly went from possibly getting cut with a loss to next in line for a title shot.

Jackson, unlike Machida, goes with a more aggressive strategy, getting right in his opponent's face and attacking his chin. Rampage would much prefer a stand-and-bang matchup to a jiu-jitsu battle.

Jackson's aggressive style would prove the better of the two strategies in his last fight, which was against Machida, where he took home a unanimous decision victory.

Jones has dominated almost every opponent that he has faced so far in his UFC career, and his chin has yet to be tested. It would be interesting to see what would happen if Jackson was able to connect with one of his signature left hooks.

However, Jackson must first make it through Matt "The Hammer" Hamill at UFC 130 this Saturday before he makes any plans for a showdown with Jones. Jackson has stated that he hopes to finish the fight quickly, and if he does so, he would most likely be next in line to challenge for the title.

While both contenders would be interesting matchups for Jones, most fight fans still think that Rashad Evans should be the next opponent for the champion.

Jones and Evans created a heated rivalry after Jones' last victory until Jones dropped out of the fight with the thumb injury. Now that Jones no longer requires surgery, Evans has stated he thinks that Jones is now trying to avoid fighting him.

There is no doubt that a matchup between these two will happen, but first Evans must get through "Mr. Wonderful," and Jones must look towards his first title defense in mid-October.

So far, there have been two rumored events to take place in the month of October. One is UFC 136, which has been mentioned as possibly being located in Houston, Texas at the Toyota Center.

Several sources, including MMAWeekly.com, have said current UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez may return from injury on that card to face the winner of the Junior dos Santos versus Shane Carwin matchup at UFC 131.

Another event that will most likely happen in October is UFC 137. This event will most likely take place sometime in mid-October and, according to MMAFighting.com, will be located in Liverpool, England.