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Jon Jones reveals Rampage will be his next opponent

Jon Jones looks set to make his first title defence against Rampage Jackson © Getty Images

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UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon 'Bones' Jones has revealed his next fight inside the Octagon will be against Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson.

Jackson had been expected to be out of action for a while, after confirming he had aggravated a broken hand in his victory over Matt Hamill at UFC 130. It had been rumoured the setback would leave the 32-year-old unavailable for the first defence of Jones' title - which he won against Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua in March - in favour of a title shot for either Lyoto Machida or Rashad Evans.

Jackson has been temporarily suspended from action by the Nevada State Athletic Commission awaiting medical verdicts on his hand, but Jones nevertheless sounded confident that 'The A-Team' star will be his next opponent.

"I'll be fighting Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson next," Jones told MMAJunkie. "I'm not allowed to discuss the date because I didn't sign a contract, but yeah, it will be very soon."

Jones has his own injury concerns, with a niggling ligament in his hand still causing him bother. The problem forced him to pull out of a scheduled UFC 133 contest with Evans in August, as it was believed it would need surgery, before a revised doctor's report came too late for the fight to be reinstated.

Evans will face Phil Davis instead and, when asked when Jones would like to get back in the Octagon himself, the 23-year-old replied: "September".

There are two UFC events scheduled for that month: with UFC Fight Night 25 set for the 17th in New Orleans, and UFC 135 pencilled in for the 25th in Denver.

The latter would be the most profitable for both fighters - as it would be on pay-per-view television - and thus is considered the more likely option, should Jones get his wish.

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