PHOTO | Alexander Gustafsson is Back to Training for His UFC Return
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.
“Daniel [Cormier] knows I’m here to stay, that I’m waiting for my rematch against him. I’m not in a hurry. I’ve had longer stretches between fights than this. I’ll be fine. I want the belt. I want a title fight. We’ll see if Volkan [Oezdemir] vs. Cormier gets confirmed. Then I’ll fight the winner and I’m pretty sure I’ll fight ‘DC.’ Volkan does have a puncher’s chance. He’s not someone you want to underestimate. He’s a power puncher. But ‘DC’ is the better fighter. [Cormier] can take a punch. He has the cardio. He is a better mixed martial artist than Volkan. So I see ‘DC’ winning the fight.” — Alexander Gustafsson speaking to Viaplay Fighting in October.
The last time we saw Alexander Gustafsson, he knocked out Teixeira in May. No word on his actual return date, but rest assured that when the winner of Daniel Cormier versus Volkan Oezdemir is decided on January 20th, former title challenger Gustafsson will be waiting. If it goes the way Gus thinks, that means a rematch with Cormier for the light heavyweight title. However, we all know how unpredictable this MMA game is and there is no telling how the division looks when Alexander gets back. One thing is for sure, we’re all looking forward to his return.
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 12/6/2017.
Topics:
Alexander Gustafsson Daniel Cormier Volkan Oezdemir
