Alexander Gustafsson will not sever his relationship with Alliance MMA after all, according to a recent report from Swedish MMA site Kimura.
Yesterday, news was released (h/t MMAjunkie.com) that Gustafsson would set up future training camps exclusively in Sweden, prompting many to speculate that a future rematch with Alliance MMA teammate Phil Davis was on the horizon for the young Swede.
This, however, is not the case, as Gustafsson’s boxing trainer Andreas Michael said “Alex and Davis will only meet in a title match, or if both get millions in salary for a match against each other.”
The article also reports that “the partnership between Alliance and Alex/All Star Fitness will continue for a long time to come.”
Michael said that this miscommunication was the result of the media making something out of nothing and that Alex never intended his comments regarding the situation to be taken in that context.
The quote which ignited this discussion was published by a Swedish tabloid, Aftonbladet, where Gustafsson said this of a future matchup with Davis:
We belong to both the top, and that’s not a difficult guess that we’ll meet again soon. It’s not a dream opponent because we are friends, but (if) UFC decides that we should meet…it feels better to not train together right now.
For MMA fans, this is great news, as Gustafsson’s recent improvements with the help of Alliance MMA have impressed even the toughest critics.
Fresh off his finest performance to date at UFC 165 against light heavyweight champion and pound-for-pound king Jon Jones, Gustafsson’s skill set is as sharp and refined as ever, and a total change in preparation could have slowed his evolution.
Fans need not worry now, though, as Michael said “Thoughts on finishing the fine relationship that the two clubs have between them does not exist and has never existed.”
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