Alexander Gustafsson has won five straight fights and is beginning to receive recognition as a potential threat to light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. In order to get his shot at the titleholder in the near future, though, Gustafsson must defeat Mauricio Rua at Saturday’s UFC on Fox 5.
While he became UFC champion during that time, Rua has alternated wins and losses since his knockout of Chuck Liddell in April 2009. Coming off a somewhat unimpressive win over Brandon Vera, Rua will be looking to prove he is still a serious contender for the belt that Jones stole from him.
This light heavyweight bout could shake up the division significantly, so let’s take a look at what areas Gustafsson and Rua hold their advantages in and which fighter is most likely to walk away with the victory.