Alexander Gustafsson, who five years ago gave former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones his toughest challenge in one of the greatest bouts in UFC history, wants to fight a rematch in New York on Nov. 3 -- at an event that still does not have a main event.

UFC president Dana White has been adamant that Jones, cleared last week by an independent arbitrator to return from a United States Anti-Doping Agency suspension as of Oct. 28, will not return to the Octagon until the "beginning of next year." But Jones' manager, Malki Kawa, would not definitively close the door Monday on a more imminent return.

Asked during an appearance on Ariel Helwani's MMA Show whether Jones will headline at Madison Square Garden, Kawa said, "No, not as of right now. We're still working on some stuff." So there's a chance? "Probably not. I don't want to get anybody's hopes up."

What Gustafsson (18-4) is hoping for is a call from the UFC to book the Jones rematch, saying on Helwani's show, "I want to welcome him back."

In September 2013, the Swede lost a unanimous decision in a back-and-forth battle in which he took Jones down for the first time in Jones' career, battered him and badly cut him above his eye and sent him to the hospital.

"That's the only fight that really makes sense right now," said Gustafsson, who has been out since May 2017 because of injuries to himself and scheduled opponents. "It's a fight that MMA fans around the world want to see. ... Let's do it. Why wait?"

Jones has not fought since July 2017, when he tested positive for an anabolic steroid prior to his challenge of 205-pound champ Daniel Cormier. Jones knocked out Cormier, but the result was changed to no contest because of the drug-test failure. Cormier had won the belt in the first place after Jones was stripped in 2015 for violating the UFC's Athlete Code of Conduct Policy in a hit-and-run car accident that injured a pregnant woman.