• UFC 126

Bader expects Jones fight to happen on February 5

Ryan Bader has confirmed to ESPN that he expects his fight with Jon Jones to go ahead at UFC 126 on February 5.

Bader is undefeated in 12 MMA fights, with five of those coming in the UFC after his triumph in TUF 8. Jones is on a similar path, winning 11 of his 12 bouts, with the only defeat a disqualification when he was all over Matt Hamill.

The bout is already creating huge expectation among fans, although recent comments from UFC president Dana White suggested the fight might be off, with White stating on October 15: "I don't know if Jones is going to fight Bader. We tried to put that fight together, but Bader has some stuff going on. Jon Jones might be fighting somebody else, I don't know how that's going to go."

It was speculated that Bader's plans to marry may put in a spanner in the works, but ESPN spoke to the 27-year-old 24 hours later at UFC 120, and he confirmed he has no plans to pull out of the fight.

"I believe it's set. I haven't heard otherwise so that's what we're looking to do right now," Bader told ESPN.

"Probably in February. Nothing's official right now but that's what we're looking for. My ultimate goal is to get that title, Jon Jones is a very very tough fighter, so I'm looking to fight him and move on."

Jones has previously stated that he is 'obsessed' with Bader, and the feeling appears to be mutual as both men head for the fight of their careers.

"I've got a huge fight ahead of me, the biggest of my career, so I'm looking forward to it," said Bader. "I take one fight at a time, all you think about is that opponent, game-planning, what are you gonna do? What's he going to do? So I think about my opponent a lot."

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