UFC President Dana White has addressed the status of Alexander Gustafsson for UFC 227.
The two-time title contender is expected to make his long-awaited return to the Octagon at the upcoming pay-per-view event. However, he will need a new opponent at the show.
It was rumored that Gustafsson would take on former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold in a light heavyweight bout, which would have marked Rockhold’s move up from middleweight to the 205-pound division.
However, that is not meant to be as he suffered a shin injury that required surgery. Thus, Rockhold will be sidelined until the latter part of the year.
Now, the Las Vegas-based promotion is seeking a new opponent for Gustafsson. White talked about the situation over the weekend for the UFC Liverpool event that aired on FOX Sports 1.
“We have to get him another opponent,” White said about Gustafsson at the post-fight press conference for UFC Fight Night in Liverpool (transcript courtesy of MMANytt.com). “We’ll keep him on that card and get him another opponent. Rockhold screwed up shin.”
Gustafsson has won back-to-back fights since losing a close split decision to UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 192. In those fights, he scored a unanimous decision victory over Jan Blachowicz and knocking out Glover Teixeira.
Thus, these wins made some fight fans believe he should be next in line. However, he will have to wait for that as Cormier is slated to take on UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic at the upcoming UFC 226 pay-per-view event.
Gustafsson last fought on May 2017 and was forced to the sidelines for the remainder of the year while dealing with an injury shoulder that required surgery. The former title contender recently signed a new multi-fight contract with the UFC.
The UFC 227 pay-per-view event is set to take place on Saturday, August 4, 2018, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
The main card will air on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card will air on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass.
This event will be headlined by a bantamweight title fight pitting champion TJ Dillashaw against Cody Garbrandt in a rematch.
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