In the UFC, rankings are pretty subjective these days.

Light heavyweight champion Jon Jones next defends his belt against surging contender Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165 in September, MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani first reported Thursday evening.

Despite the fact that Lyoto Machida had been promised a title fight after victories over both Ryan Bader and Dan Henderson, and also outranks Gustafsson in the UFC’s official 205-pound rankings (1 vs. 2), it looks like he will have to again wait in line for another crack at the belt.

Both “Bones” and “The Mauler” have been actively calling for the match up through social media for weeks now, ever since the champ defeated Chael Sonnen at UFC 159 in April.

The victory was Jones’ ninth in a row, also tying Tito Ortiz’s light heavyweight record of five successful title defenses.

Jones has already run through the “whose who” of opponents at 205-pounds, including former champions in Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans and Vitor Belfort.

Meanwhile, the rangy Swedish striker has won six in a row, including four stoppages. He most recently earned convincing decision wins over respected names in Thiago Silva and Rua.

Gustafsson’s sole loss came to an accomplished grappler in Phil Davis, tapping to an anaconda choke at UFC 112 in April 2012.

Jones is known for his takedowns, submissions and ground and pound, though is also highly effective on his feet with unorthodox striking, so it will be interesting to see how Gustafsson approaches the fight.

This upcoming title fight was briefly rumored to be the main event for UFC on FOX Sports 1: #1 in August, but Jones nixed the idea after he decided he needed more time to heal a horrific dislocated toe, which he sustained in his bout with Sonnen.