Fresh off his biggest victory, 24-year-old light-heavyweight Alexander Gustafsson has agreed to face rugged veteran Vladimir Matyushenko at December’s UFC 141.
The UFC confirmed the bout’s booking.
At August’s UFC 133, Gustafsson captured his most important victory to date when he defeated Matt Hamill via second-round TKO.
It was the third straight win and third straight finish for the Swedish star, who improved to 12-1 overall, and shortly after the bout, Hamill announced his retirement.
Ironically, Gustafsson had originally been scheduled to face Matyushenko that night until an injury to the Belarusian derailed the fight. It turns out the delay was temporary, with the clash only pushed back a few months.
Matyushenko, one of the UFC’s elder statesmen at 40 years old, has earned back-to-back victories, with TKO stoppages of Alexandre Ferreira and Jason Brilz.
UFC 141 goes down on December 30 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. In the main event, newly signed heavyweight star Alistair Overeem takes on former UFC champ Brock Lesnar.