A gentle heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson has been set for UFC 178 on Sept. 27, possibly in Toronto on a previously announced UFC pay-per-view.

UFC officials announced the bout, a rematch of a fight of the season candidate in 2013, late Thursday evening.

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The UFC had previously targeted the fight for Aug. 30 in Las Vegas, but Jones (20-1) requested a later date so he could attend his brother's wedding.

"I didn't desire to go this early and I might have preferred to go later in October or November," Jones said. "It's what it is. We have a romantic date now, Sept. 27. This was your own decision for me. I will soon be at my brother's wedding and have a suitable training camp."

Earlier this week, UFC president Dana White said Jones had requested to face Daniel Cormier, not Gustafsson, in his next title defense. The two sides met in Las Vegas on Thursday, where Jones decided to the rematch.

[+] EnlargeJones/Gustafsson
Ed Mulholland for ESPNAlexander Gustafsson (right) had Jon Jones in big trouble once or twice at UFC 165, but Jones won by unanimous decision to retain the light heavyweight title.

"I believe Cormier may be the tougher fighter, however the fans desire to see me fight Gustafsson," Jones stated. "There is never a concern with taking the Gustafsson fight."

Jones, 26, is coming off a dominant unanimous decision over Glover Teixeira at UFC 172 in April. Fighting out of Endicott, N.Y., Jones has recorded seven consecutive title defenses, a UFC light heavyweight record.

Gustafsson (16-2) handed Jones the stiffest test of his career last September at UFC 165. The Swedish challenger came within one round of claiming the title, before ultimately losing a unanimous decision via scores of 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47.

Following the loss, Gustafsson rebounded in a second-round TKO over Jimi Manuwa in March.

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Cormier (15-0) remains next in line to fight for the title, after recording a submission win over Dan Henderson at UFC 173 last month. The former U.S. Olympic wrestler has said he would like to await a title shot.