Alexander Gustafsson isn’t getting the title bout he wants and will instead face off with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at the opening event to the UFC’s 2014 European Tour.
The event will take place in London, England on March 8, 2014 and will be the first of six cards shown exclusively in Europe, designed to strengthen the UFC’s presence and talent base across the Atlantic. You can read more about the Tour here. It is unknown if the fight will be the main event.
The announcement was made at the post-fight press conference and was quickly reiterated across the UFC’s media presences on Fox Sports 2.
Gustafsson: I’m super excited to fight in London and for the opportunity to finally fight Little Nog.
— UFC Tonight (@UFCTonight) October 26, 2013
Gustafsson most recently lost a razor-thin unanimous decision to Jon Jones in a title fight at UFC 165. Many fans, and Dana White himself, called for an immediate rematch, but Jones was inexplicably matched against Brazilian power-puncher Glover Teixeira instead—a move that had many saying Jones was afraid of a rematch. Gustafsson was originally pegged to headline a card in Sweden, but apparently, he will not be fighting on his home country for now.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira scored what is likely to be 2013’s Upset of the Year by beating Rashad Evans at UFC 156. Any sort of a career renaissance was cut short, however, after he was forced to withdraw from a UFC 161 bout with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
There are no further details quite yet about the London card or the fate of the card Gustafsson was rumored to fight on. Stick with Bleacher Report for more details as they become available.
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