LOS ANGELES – After going through one of the most memorable fights in UFC history with Jon Jones, Alexander Gustafsson has nothing but respect for the UFC light heavyweight champion as a fighter.
But the Swedish light heavyweight contender doesn’t hold Jones in high regard otherwise. The Stockholm native, who trains at San Diego’s Alliance MMA, said Tuesday that he feels Jones’ drug-test failure for cocaine metabolites reflects poorly on both the UFC and the sport of mixed martial arts as a whole.
“It is bad for the sport, bad for the organization,” said Gustafsson, who lost a decision to Jones in the 2013 MMAFighting.com Fight of the Year at UFC 165. “We’re supposed to be role models. You’re supposed to stay above that sort of thing.”
Jones tested positive on a Dec. 4 test administered by the Nevada Athletic Commission. NAC failed to discipline Jones over the test because technically, the test was only supposed to be for performance-enhancing drugs.
While Gustafsson declined to delve much further into Jones’ business, his Alliance training partner, fellow light heavyweight Phil Davis, takes issue with Jones’ lack of punishment.
“They drug tested him and he popped,” Davis said. “Now, I’m just a stupid fighter, but it sounded like, if they drug tested him, they were looking to do something if he popped. So I think you gotta do something. But then again, what do I know? I’m just a stupid fighter.”
Gustafsson, of course, meets Anthony Johnson in the main event of UFC on FOX 14 a week from Saturday. With a title shot promised if he wins, Gustafsson knows Jones is going to be a constant topic, but he wishes the subject would go away.
“Every single reporter asks me about Jones,” Gustafsson said. “All of them. I can’t bother to think about Jon Jones right now, I have a very dangerous opponent in front of me.”