The Doggy Bag: Helluva Drug Edition

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With the recent developments in Jon Jones' life -- moving to Albuquerque full-time, the positive cocaine test, checking into rehab -- does it change how you think about his rematch with Alexander Gustafsson? Cormier landed many punches on Jones in the first three rounds of their fight and Gustafsson can build a better gameplan this time around his boxing success. While Jones is an incredible fighter, given how close their first fight was, I think his personal issues plus the skill and improvement of Gustafsson could give us a new champ. -- Ryan from Brooklyn

Jordan Breen, administrative editor: First of all, that should probably say “in his rematch with Alexander Gustafsson or his first encounter with Anthony Johnson.” I very much favor Gustafsson to get his hand raised in front of his fellow Swedes on Jan. 24, but he is facing the most catastrophic hitter at 205 pounds. Any single strike from Anthony Johnson can decimate a fighter. Gustafsson might box him up himself, or take him down and pound him out, but let's not give him the W just yet.

I actually think that Gustafsson-Johnson is a great title eliminator in this respect. Even though Gustafsson is a righteous favorite and rematching Jones after their 2013 “Fight of the Year” is the bigger prize, Johnson is a serious, honest contender. He could starch Gustafsson and if you believe that a strong savvy puncher is the sort of guy that could get to Jones, then Johnson presents a more serious threat of a single-strike knockout against Jones than anyone else at 205.

Regardless, the winner of Gustafsson-Johnson is going to have to wait for a minute. Considering Jones has to go through his PR-mandated, prefunctory rehab stint and he likely won't come out of it and dive right into camp, if he stays healthy and keeps his nose clean, we're still looking at June for an early return and August for a later return probably. Zuffa has UFC 188 scheduled for June 13, UFC 189 for July 11 and UFC 190 for Aug. 1, and given the usual emphasis on the July PPV in conjunction with their International Fight Week event, maybe that's the most likely date.

There's no way telling how this thing shakes out in that respect. It's not like Jones is going to be rushed into a Memorial Day weekend defense and seeing how he's been able to dominate to such a high degree given his party animal lifestyle, a summer return could be all the time in the world for him to get his act together, at least enough to ensure that his personal issues aren't any kind of decisive factor.

It also bears mentioning that after the Jones-Gustafsson fight, word got out that Jones had been partying excessively in the lead up to UFC 165. “The Mauler” still has great physical tools and skills to compete against Jones -- he is unquestionably the more skilled, effective boxer – but what if the first fight was actually the moment that represented Jones' greatest vulnerability, unbeknownst to us at the time?

Jones-Gustafsson 2 in the summer is what will likely come to pass, but even as Jones struggles to get his professional and personal life in order, we need to remember that he's the rarest of breeds. Unless Jones' affairs somehow completely spiral out of control in the coming months, it will still be a surprise to see another man holding 205-pound gold at year's end.

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