Alexander Gustafsson News

Chris Taylor - April 21, 2018

Daniel Cormier blasts Alexander Gustafsson “Your greatest accomplishment is two close losses!” Current UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will attempt to become only the fifth fighter in UFC history to capture belts in two different weight classes when he challenges reigning UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic for his “baddest man on the planet” strap at UFC 226 on July 7 in Las Vegas.

Tom Taylor - April 20, 2018

Earlier this week, two-time light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson appeared on the JRE MME Show to discuss all things MMA. One of the topics that came up, unsurprisingly, was troubled former champion Jon Jones, who Gustafsson lost a close and controversial decision to in the year 2013. On the show, Gustafsson assured that, should he and Jones meet again in the future, he’ll come out on top. Evidently, Jones caught win of these comments, as he quickly went after his Swedish rival on Twitter.

Tom Taylor - April 20, 2018

Though Alexander Gustafsson’s recent career has been somewhat hindered by unfortunate injuries, it sounds like he’s still far from the end of the road. On Thursday afternoon, the long-time light heavyweight contender and two-time title challenger took to Instagram to announce a lucrative new deal with the UFC. In the caption for this Instagram post, he also took a subtle dig at reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, who has assured he’ll be retiring soon.

Tom Taylor - April 17, 2018

Riding a nice knockout win over Glover Teixeira, Alexander Gustafsson expected to get the next crack at UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. Regrettably for him, Cormier is headed back up to the heavyweight division, where his career began, to battle reigning heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. Speaking on The JRE MMA Show this week, Gustafsson explained his frustration with Cormier’s temporary departure from the division. He feels the absentee champion has put the division he rules in limbo.

Tom Taylor - March 13, 2018

On July 7, in the main event of UFC 226, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will return to his former haunts in the heavyweight division, where he will challenge heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic for the title. While this fight is one of the most anticipated on the UFC calendar, it has left the light heavyweight division’s top contenders without a champion to gun for. Sweden’s Alexander Gustafsson is one of those contenders. On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Gustafsson expressed his frustration with Cormier’s departure from the division – even if it’s only temporary.

Justin Golightly - March 10, 2018

Ever since Luke Rockhold teased that he was going to be moving up to the light heavyweight division, there has been one man waiting to welcome him to the division. Alexander Gustafsson was quick to stand in the doorway to Rockhold’s entrance into the new weight class. The former UFC middleweight champion is happy to oblige Gustafsson whenever they can step into the Octagon, but it looks like he already landed a pretty big blow. @LukeRockhold . Heard u coming for me.. Can’t ask for more .chinny as middle weight. KO’d as a LHW. Fool yourself to believe its the weight cut.

Justin Golightly - March 8, 2018

Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold’s days in his division are numbered. He has been very vocal about his imminent move to light heavyweight, as his friend and teammate Daniel Cormier moves up to heavyweight before he ends his career. As vocal as he’s been about going to 205, one man has been just as talkative about welcoming him to the division: Alexander Gustafsson. Well, be careful what you wish for, because he’s coming for that ass. “I don’t see me coming back [to middleweight], man. The weight cut is too much on me. As you get older, your bones get bigger. The last couple cuts have been pretty brutal on me. I had trouble regulating my body temperature and all that shit. It’s not fun. It’s not a fun cut anymore. I’m a different fighter at 205-pounds. That weight cut is taking a lot out of me. We had to make weight and stress out through the staging process like the old days [at UFC 221].

Drake Riggs - March 5, 2018

No time was wasted by Volkan Oezdemir as he raced his way to an early title shot in 2017. The relative unknown Swissman, Oezdemir took out three top ten contenders in the short span of just a year’s time and did so in less than twenty minutes. After earning his title shot at UFC 220, Oezdemir put up a very valiant effort early on against the light heavyweight champion and future UFC heavyweight title challenger, Daniel Cormier but ultimately came up short.

Justin Golightly - February 23, 2018

The next move for Luke Rockhold is light heavyweight. It’s something he’s been vocal about even before UFC 211, where he suffered a loss to Yoel Romero. He’s since doubled down on the move and had already been called out by Alexander Gustafsson, which is fight Rockhold is very interested in. Still, some fans doubt his commitment or decision to move up, but the former UFC middleweight champion states that there is only one thing to keep him at 185 and that’s only for one fight: Michael Bisping. “I’m not too excited about making that weight cut again. I just don’t feel nearly as strong, powerful, quick. It takes a lot out of me. Pretty much [Michael] Bisping is the only reason I would torture myself to get back there. That’s a loss that doesn’t sit well with me. I know the UFC is very interested in that fight and will pursue it on their end. If he doesn’t accept it, there’s no reason for me to stay at 185. Mr. [Alexander] Gustafsson has reached out, opened his mouth, and that’s a fight that interests me — very much so. I like that match-up. I like every match-up at 205. There’s a lot of interesting things there and I’m not coming to play around.”

Drake Riggs - February 14, 2018

UFC light heavyweight champion, Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson are no strangers to one another. The two men met in one of the 205-pound weight classes greatest fights at UFC 192. The bout would go the distance and it would be Cormier who came out on top with the split decision victory and his first career title defense. Since the two fought, they haven’t lost. Cormier has gone 3-0 while Gustafsson 2-0. Cormier just recently defended his title against Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 220 and his longtime friend and teammate, Luke Rockhold just very recently attempted to recapture some gold of his own at UFC 221. However, Rockhold was unable to come away with the win and prior to this fight, he had talked about going up to the 205-pound division. A statement that prompted a warning from Gustafsson.

Justin Golightly - February 13, 2018

With Daniel Cormier moving up to heavyweight for his superfight with Stipe Miocic before his retirement, it left room for Luke Rockhold to make his move. Before his loss to Yoel Romero, he opened up about how he’s getting older and weight cuts are getting harder. He decided going up to light heavyweight was ‘imminent’. However, two-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson warns Rockhold that he may want to re-think his division and offered a stern warning to the former middleweight champ. “Luke Rockhold, your teammate is holding my division hostage and you think there are only easy fights at light heavyweight? If you think [Yoel] Romero hits hard, then wait till you come to the big boys. I want Daniel Cormier, and knocking you out will keep me warm in the meantime. Beware of coming up in weight because I will be standing at the front door waiting.”— Alexander Gustafsson via his official Instagram.

Justin Golightly - January 27, 2018

It’s true. Oh, it’s true. Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic are going to fight and the world will probably never be the same. Despite how earth-shatteringly insane the match-up is, some people somehow still aren’t in support of it. In all things, especially in MMA, you can’t please everyone even with the most legendary of match-ups. One of those people who aren’t happy, is former UFC light heavyweight challenger Alexander Gustafsson. “Daniel Cormier is fighting Stipe [Miocic]? Well, stop running and fight me. Don’t even think about giving the fight to anyone else. I have been quiet. I had a tough time after my last fight (injury etc.) but I’m next in line and the [Cormier] fight is mine. Come on, let’s have a another dance for the fans, UFC.” — Alexander Gustafsson via his official Facebook.

Justin Golightly - December 6, 2017

Things have been relatively quiet in the light heavyweight division for a little while now, but now we officially have Daniel Cormier defending his title against Volkan Oezdemir early next year in Boston. Aside from Ovince Saint Preux’s fight with Ilir Latifi at UFC Charlotte and Misha Cirkunov’s scrap with Glover Teixeira at UFC Winnipeg, we don’t have any big Top 10 match-ups in the division booked. That’s all about to change soon. After a successful surgery last month, Alexander Gustafsson is back to training for his comeback. Feels good to be back at the @allstarsgymsweden after the surgery. Time to get to work and come back stronger than ever in 2018!

Chris Taylor - November 27, 2017

Don’t expect to see former UFC title challenger Alexander Gustafsson back in the octagon any time soon. “The Mauler” recently took to social media where he shared the following photo fresh out of shoulder surgery.

Tom Taylor - October 16, 2017

Though nothing is official just yet, it sounds as though the next UFC light heavyweight title fight will pit reinstated champion Daniel Cormier against surging Swiss contender Volkan Oezdemir. If this fight does go down as expected, Sweden’s Alexander Gustafsson will be watching it intently, as he’s likely to be the next man in line for the winner. Speaking on the Swedish show Viaplay Fighting, Gustafsson offered up a prediction on this fight. While he was careful not to discount Oezdemir, he appears to be quite confident in a Cormier win.

Chris Taylor - October 13, 2017

Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson plans to sit out and wait for the winner of Daniel Cormier vs. Volkan Oezdemir. Volkan Oezdemir is expected to challenge Daniel Cormier for his UFC light heavyweight title in early 2018.

Tom Taylor - August 23, 2017

It seems that almost every fighter on the UFC roster has something to say about Jon Jones’ potential USADA violation, which stems from a failed test that occurred on the night of the UFC 214 weigh-ins. Some fighters think it’s time for the UFC and the governing athletic commissions to drop the hammer on the light heavyweight great. Others, meanwhile, are eager to remind fans to not to judge until all the facts have been collected. Alexander Gustafsson, one of Jones’ fiercest rivals, falls into this latter category.

Tom Taylor - August 21, 2017

Earlier today, Swedish MMA publication MMANytt reported that a light heavyweight title fight between champion Jon Jones and challenger Alexander Gustafsson was in the works for UFC 218, which is scheduled for December 2 in Detroit, Michigan. Apparently, however, this report is inaccurate. Speaking to Kimura.se, another Swedish publication, Gustafsson revealed that he currently camping with his friends, and that he’s not a part of any discussions regarding a fight with Jones at the moment.