Jones-Bader 205-Pound Showdown in the Works

A matchup pitting two of the top prospects at 205 pounds is in the works, as a much-talked-about fight between Ryan Bader and Jon Jones looks like it will happen sometime in early 2011.

MMAJunkie.com first reported the likely matchup, which would pit the 23-year-old Jones against the unbeaten champion of Season 8 of "The Ultimate Fighter" in Bader. The bout will either be at UFC 125 on Jan. 1, 2011 or possibly at UFC 127, which is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 5, 2011.

Bader is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 119 last month. The win moved Bader to 5-0 in the UFC and was his third decision win in his last four fights. The Arizona Combat Sports product was an All-American collegiate wrestler at Arizona State University before making his professional MMA debut in March 2007.

Bader has wins over Keith Jardine, Eric Schafer and Carmelo Marrero as well on his resume.

Jones' most recent victory came in August at UFC on Versus 2, where he needed only 1:52 to knock out veteran Vladimir Matyushenko. The Jackson's Mixed Martial Arts phenom has nine finishes (seven knockouts, two submissions) among his 11 professional victories and is 5-1 during his time in the Octagon. Along with Matyushenko, Jones owns wins over Stephan Bonnar, Andre Gusmao, Jake O'Brien and Brandon Vera.