Its been a long time coming, but Alexander Gustafsson is still gunning for a shot at redemption against Jon Jones.
Jones and Gustafsson put on an absolute classic against one another back in 2013. Jones defended his then-light heavyweight title against “The Mauler” in a five-round thriller. Although the fight was razor close, the judges awarded “Bones” the unanimous decision victory.
A few attempts were made to make the rematch happen, but it never came to fruition. Instead, Jones would go on to make one more title defense before having three 205-pound titles stripped from him due to conduct issues.
Gustafsson would lose two fights, including another light heavyweight title opportunity against Daniel Cormier, before racking up a two-fight win streak. With Jones nearing the end of his United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspension, Gustafsson sees this as the perfect opportunity the get his rematch.
Many have speculated that the rematch could serve as the headliner for the vacant UFC 230 pay-per-view (PPV) main event slot. However, those rumors have been shut down by UFC President Dana White and Jones’ manager.
Gustafsson was interviewed on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show today (Mon. September 24, 2018). He was asked about a potential rematch with Jones and if the UFC has contacted him about the opportunity:
“Uh, no not that I know – not really,” Gustafsson said. “I want that fight. I feel that’s the only fight that makes sense right now. I’ve been away for a while, he has been away for a while, we both had a great first fight and it just feels like it’s a fight the MMA fans around the world want to see. I’ve been training, I’m in shape, so let’s do it. Why wait?”
As for if he thinks the UFC will make the fight happen, “The Mauler” can’t be too sure. All he knows is that he’s down to run it back with Jones – but wonders if “Bones” wants the same:
“I don’t know,” said Gustafsson. “Hopefully they will give us a call. I really hope so, let’s see what they say. I’m down for that fight – I don’t know what Jon Jones feels about it but we had a good first one, let’s have a second one.”
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