Alexander Gustafsson is still on the hunt for Jon Jones.
‘The Mauler’ comes off of a unanimous decision win over Jan Blachowicz last September, where he snapped a two-fight losing skid to Anthony Johnson and Daniel Cormier. Feeling revitalized in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career after the win, Gustafsson will now step into the Octagon against UFC veteran Glover Teixeira.
The pair will headline the UFC Fight Night 109 card from Gustasson’s hometown of Stockholm, Sweden on May 28th from the Ericsson Globe arena. Earlier today (Wed. March 29, 2017) a press conference in Sweden was held to promote the event, where Gustafsson was asked about his thoughts on a possible rematch with Jon Jones.
The UFC light heavyweight title will be contested for at UFC 210 between champion Daniel Cormier and No. 1-ranked Anthony Johnson next month (April 10th), and Jones – who is currently serving a one-year suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) – is likely to get the first crack at the winner. The bout between Gustafsson and Teixeira could very well be heavily involved in the 205-pound title picture moving forward (quotes via MMA Junkie):
“Jones is one of those fights I think everybody wants,” Gustafsson said. “It’s a hard choice because you have the belt, and you have Jones. Jones is a true champ in my eyes (because he never lost the belt in the octagon). There’s no one like him, and to beat him would be as big as being the world champ.”
Jones and Gustafsson fought in the main event of UFC 165 back in September of 2013. ‘Bones’ won the bout with a heavily controversial unanimous decision, after one of the greatest light heavyweight title fights of all time. They were originally set to rematch at UFC 178, however, Gustafsson was forced out of the bout do to a torn meniscus.
Now the Swede has an opportunity to get himself back in the mix for not only a shot at the 205-pound crown, but redemption against Jones, whom he feels he beat that night in Toronto. Before he begins planning any of that, however, Gustafsson is 100 percent focused on the task at hand, Teixeira:
“I will be the winner of this fight, I can tell you that,” Gustafsson said. “We’ll see what happens. My focus is on Glover right now. That’s a tough challenge for me. I’m going to score that, and we’ll see what happens for me. We’ll move forward.”
Teixeira is fine with the fact that Gustafsson is ultimately gunning for a rematch with Jones, as he would rather focus on becoming the light heavyweight champion of the world:
“Jones is coming back, so who knows (about a title shot),” Teixeira said. “But after I beat Gustafsson I can fight for the title, and Gustafsson can have his rematch with Jones.”
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