UFC light heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson headlines opposite Glover Teixeira June 20 in Berlin, but he still has ‘Rumble’ on his mind.
Anthony Johnson stopped Gustafsson via a first-round TKO in January at UFC on FOX 14, but the Swede sounds like he got caught on a bad night.
“I win over Anthony Johnson six out of seven days,” Gustafsson told Swedish MMA. “But, the only thing that wasn’t supposed to happen, happened. One day you are on the top, the other day you’re on the bottom. That’s how it works.”
The title eliminator bout with Johnson lasted just over two minutes, but Gustafsson seems to be internalizing the loss more than anything.
“Not much,” Gustafsson said of post-fight takeaways. “I hadn’t time to show my potential. The fight didn’t last long. But I learned to have a better defense. Keep your hands up and your chin down and to be ready for anything. You can’t relax, even for a millisecond in this sport. Because that’s what happened, the fight was fast.
“There’s not much you can say about that fight. He hit me and he hit me good. Sometimes that’s enough. I try to face my demons. You have that doubt and lack of self confidence. You feel that you’re not good enough to be the best in the world and that’s the hardest thing about it all, something you have to go through and process. I know I have potential to be the best in the world. It’s just a damn setback when you lose like this.”
With another heavy-handed striker ahead of him, Gustafsson sounds more than confident against Teixeira.
“He’s a tough opponent who’s highly ranked,” said Gustafsson. “It’ll be a good fight. He likes to stand up and hit hard. We’re both strikers and we like to keep the fight on the feet. I think I have many keys to win this fight, but I have to practice everything.
“I see myself as a better boxer. I’m more of a technical boxer than he is. I think I’m faster than he is, I have better footwork. I’m a better MMA fighter than he is. I mix things up better than he does.”
5 MUST-READ STORIES
‘I believe I can still be on top.’ Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre say he believes he still has the potential to be the best.
Whoops. The judge in the matter finds that Bellator is ‘reasonably likely’ to succeed on breach claims against Quinton Jackson.
Chat Wrap. Luke Thomas discusses Rampage Jackson vs. Bellator, Ronda Rousey vs. Walmart and previews this weekend’s MMA action in this week’s live chat.
‘It’s just unprofessional.’ WSOF president Ray Sefo explains how the relationship with Melvin Guillard deteriorated the way it did and whether or not he’ll ever fight for the promotion again.
‘Movin’ on up.’ Nate Diaz moves up to welterweight to fight Matt Brown at UFC 189 in Las Vegas on July 11.
MEDIA STEW
Media day highlights from UFC Fight Night: Krakow.
Georges St-Pierre compares Conor McGregor to Chael Sonnen in the leadup to his fight with Anderson Silva.
Luke Rockhold wants four-year bans for PED users.
Inside the Octagon with Ariel Helwani.
Rich Franklin breaks down Ben Askren vs. Luis Santos.
TTTHS.
Long watches.
UFC Cro Cop vs. Gonzaga 2 Care/Don’t Care Preview
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5 Rounds Today with Lyoto Machida and Ed Soares – UFC on FOX 15, UFC Krakow and UFC Fairfax
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Heavy Hands 46: Open Stance w/ Machida, Rockhold, Beterbiev
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TWEETS
Yes.
There you go. @UFCTonight announced it. Fighting Nate Diaz July 11th…. Can you say #fireworks
— Matt Brown (@IamTheImmortal) April 9, 2015
Nah I’m fighting Pettis
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) April 9, 2015
Matchmaking.
Come on @clayguida I’m not getting any younger! I gotta break into the top 10 before @Reebok takes over so I can get paid!! #ufc@seanshelby
— Chas Skelly (@ChasSkelly) April 8, 2015
@MattDwyerMMA both of us are coming off impressive KOs and we both have 8 KOs to our record. Let’s make this happen!! @ufc @danawhite
— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) April 8, 2015
@TElliott125 @seanshelby would love to fight you tim no bullshit would be a fun fight
— Neil 2 Tap Seery (@NeilSeeryMMA) April 9, 2015
I’m SOO game! #alwaysreadytofight https://t.co/PsajWrC2Vr
— David Loiseau (@DavidLoiseau) April 9, 2015
Working those takedowns.
Treinando, ajudando e aprendendo… Sempre aprendendo! Training, helping and learning… Aways learning! #imthegreatest
Posted by Jose Aldo Junior on Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Cruitin’ has begun.
After having some time to think I have decided that I’m not ready to be done competing. I will be… https://t.co/VuqncEmKs8
— Logan Storley (@storleystorm) April 8, 2015
.@storleystorm I’m over here in Poland & a lil birdie found its way all the way over here to tell me about u…
— Benson Henderson (@BensonHenderson) April 8, 2015
Congrats @storleystorm on your decision to continue your competitive career! See you in SD Friday.
— robbie lawler (@Ruthless_RL) April 8, 2015
Get well soon.
Got cleared to toss the crutches this AM!! Three weeks ahead! This was my Celebration Dance! Y’all… https://t.co/Al9h7hwZF3
— Tyron T-Wood Woodley (@TWooodley) April 8, 2015
Shit happen but life goes on! Being mad is part of the game!! #teamgadelha @ Casa do Carai https://t.co/nZq9SzrthX
— Claudia Gadelha (@ClaudiaGadelha_) April 8, 2015
Well it’s been two weeks since my surgery and I finally got my stitches removed. The Doctor told me I… https://t.co/eOv6czpOk4
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) April 8, 2015
Dr said I need a backyodamy. Maybe ill listen.
— Jake Heun (@JakeHeun) April 8, 2015
Glad he survived.
Got stop by the cops while I was running Already tweeted this but #hatespellcheck or it was just me pic.twitter.com/wfqFrnWgZL
— nick diaz (@nickdiaz209) April 9, 2015
Expert.
“Success is the best revenge” one of many lessons I learned from fighting that helped me fight… https://t.co/H3xJ2hsJpu
— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) April 8, 2015
Fun.
Someone made it for me, that’s not my job @ufc @arielhelwani @AliAbdelaziz00 @danawhite @lorenzofertitta #ufc187 pic.twitter.com/SkVY4YQFkC
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) April 8, 2015
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced yesterday (April 8 2015)
Todd Duffee vs. Frank Mir at UFC Fight Night: Duffee vs. Mir
Matt Brown vs. Nate Diaz at UFC 189
Pat Curran vs. Goiti Yamauchi at Bellator 139
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today’s Fanpost of the Day comes via Michael Shulski.
Preview and Predictions for Bellator 136. Poll Included.
Bellator 136 looks to be one of the promotion’s best cards of the year. It can be argued that this event is even better than UFC Poland, which airs the next day. Review the below match ups and compare them to UFC Poland. Then, feel free to vote below on which event sounds the more exciting.
Alexander Volkov vs. Tony Johnson ushers in the main card. Volkov (24-4) stands at 6’7″ and weighs in at 235. Volkov had one of the most picture perfect combination set ups to a high kick that knocked out seasoned kickboxer “Mighty” Mou Siliga at Bellator 116. In keeping with the theme of defeating other fighters at their own strengths, Volkov also submitted decorated combat sambo champion, and undefeated mma fighter, Blagoi Ivanov. Volkov has fought twice, in his native Russia, since defeating Ivanov. Significantly, he took a decision victory over muay thai champion Alexei Kudin. In contrast, Tony Johnson (8-2) stands at 6’1″ and tips the heavyweight scales at 265. Johnson will mostly likely have a better training camp as he trains at AKA. The biggest win on his record is against Tim Sylvia. He also holds a decision win over the UFC’s Derrick Lewis. Look for Volkov to establish his range against the brawler and use his precise Kyoshukin background to pick apart Johnson.
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Check out the rest of the post here.
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