Jones vs Teixeira pulled off UFC 170

Forget about seeing Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira square off at UFC 170. Less than 24 hours after UFC president Dana White announced on UFC Tonight that the UFC light-heavyweight championship would be contested in Las Vegas on Feb. 22, White reversed course, saying the matchup would not happen on that night.

During a Thursday UFC 167 pre-fight scrum with reporters, White said he just learned of a complication that would make that time frame impossible, though he did not offer a specific reason. He said that it could simply be moved one month back to March, but said that was not a concrete decision.

In his last time out, Jones successfully defended the UFC light-heavyweight champion for a record sixth time. The fight, however, was not without difficulty for him. In his toughest task to date, he needed to take the final two rounds of the five-round affair to escape with a unanimous decision victory over Alexander Gustafsson.

Jones is 19-1 overall and at the time of his next defense, will have held the title for three years.

Teixeira for years was considered one of the best fighters not under the Zuffa umbrella, struggling to join the organization due to lingering visa issues. Since those have been resolved, he’s stormed through his first several appearances, going 5-0 with four finishes, including a recent TKO over Ryan Bader. Teixeira (22-2) has won 20 straight bouts overall, one of the longest streaks in MMA.

The Jones vs. Teixeira match was originally supposed to take place in Las Vegas, but given the change, where it will fall geographically remains to be determined.

Meanwhile, Gustafsson can earn another crack at the belt if he beats Jimi Manuwa in a March event set for London. By moving back a month, the Jones-Teixeira bout may provide the last piece to the title puzzle’s next iteration.