Eager to return to the Octagon to make up for the lost time of a 15-month suspension, the newly minted light heavyweight champ, Jon Jones, will fight again on March 2 at UFC 235. He will defend his title against Anthony Smith in Las Vegas provided he's granted a license to fight in Nevada, UFC president Dana White told ESPN.
"Later this month, Jon Jones will file an application for licensure with the [Nevada State Athletic Commission] in order to compete at UFC 235 in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 2," White said. "Provided that license is granted, Jones will be defending his light heavyweight title against Anthony Smith in a five-round main event."
Jones made his return to the Octagon at UFC 232 last weekend, defeating Alexander Gustafsson via third-round TKO to claim the light heavyweight title. However, in early December, Jones submitted a drug test that tested positive for a trace amount of the steroid metabolite. It was the same long-term M3 metabolite steroid that he tested positive for and was suspended for in 2017.
Multiple experts, including USADA, ruled that the amount found in his system was consistent with "residual amounts" he tested positive for in 2017. However, since Nevada commission could not schedule a hearing in time for UFC 232, UFC was forced to move the entire event to Los Angeles, where Jones was already licensed.
Jones is expected to appear before the Nevada commission on January 29. The championship bout is expected to be finalized after the results of the hearing.
Anthony Smith (31-13), a former middleweight, has won three straight fights with knockouts of Rashad Evans and Mauricio Rua and a rear-naked choke submission of Volkan Oezdemir.