Alexander Gustafsson
Light heavyweight Alexander ‘The Mauler’ Gustafsson (13-1) will headline his first UFC event this Saturday at home in Sweden as part of the UFC on Fuel TV 2 event. Gustafsson faces a returning Thiago Silva who was suspended a year by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for falsifying his urine.
Gustafsson is well motivated for this fight, probably more so than versus his original opponent Antônio Rogério Nogueira who withdrew due to injury.
A win over Silva could help propel ‘The Mauler’ into title contention, but as a teammate to Brandon Vera, who fought Silva last and was heavily disrespected by the Brazilian in their bout, it’s an added motivation for the big Swede to earn a win this Saturday.
Gustafsson spoke to Brian Hemminger of MMAMania.com about matching up versus Silva and what he expects from the striker.
Brian Hemminger: Let’s talk about your upcoming opponent Thiago Silva. Now Thiago kind of disrespected your Alliance teammate Brandon Vera in his last fight. Does that give you added motivation heading into this or do you try to block that out?
Alexander Gustafsson: Absolutely. He’s a great fighter but he’s not a good sportsman. He’s lacking in respect in his fights and it just makes me more motivated to fight him. He’s a very entertaining fighter too, so it’s gonna be a good fight for the fans.Would it bother you if he tried to do some similar [disrespectful] tactics in the fight against you?
Alexander Gustafsson: No, absolutely not. I’m a professional and I stick to my game. He will probably do it too so I’m prepared for it. It’s not going to affect me at all.…
Do you feel like keeping this fight at a distance will be a huge benefit to you because he’ll have to wade in pretty far to land anything significant?
Yeah, that’s my fight. I like to use my range and that’s one of my strengths and a tactic I try to use in every fight. I will definitely be using it against him.Thiago Silva is a highly ranked fighter. If you defeat him, you’ll be among the elite level in the light heavyweight division. Do you think about what a victory over Silva would mean to you?
Alexander Gustafsson: It means everything to me. It’s my career. I don’t look past him. This is my biggest opponent of my life so far and it’s a big step for me. I just want to fight better guys every time. I’m very excited.
UFC on Fuel TV: Gustafsson vs. Silva (aka UFC on Fuel TV 2) is scheduled to take place on April 14, 2012 at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. The preliminary card will stream live on Facebook while the main card will air live on FUEL TV.