Tag: Alexander Gustafsson

UFC Booking Alert: Alexander Gustafsson Gets Antonio Rogerio Nogueira Next, Ross Pearson vs. Melvin Guillard Rematch Set


(They told me I could become anything I wanted, so I became Harry Potter. / Photo via Getty)

Two big pieces of fight-booking news were announced yesterday after UFC Fight Night 30. First up, recent light-heavyweight title contender Alexander Gustafsson will face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira next. Secondly, Melvin Guillard gets another chance to “illegally attack” Ross Pearson after their fight Saturday was cut short by silly rules that are impossible to implement rationally.

Both fights will take place at a “Fight Night” event on March 8th when the UFC returns to London. Gustafsson, of course, is coming off of a very close decision loss to Jon Jones, while Nogueira is on a two fight win-streak, including his decision win over Rashad Evans earlier this year, and his TKO of Tito Ortiz way back in December 2011. Bones will face Glover Teixeira in his next bout, for some reason.

After Jones beats Teixeira and Gustafsson dispatches of Lil’ Nog (at least that’s what the UFC is betting on), Jones and his Swede challenger will once more lock horns. No word yet on who Daniel Cormier will get in his light heavyweight debut, yet.


(They told me I could become anything I wanted, so I became Harry Potter. / Photo via Getty)

Two big pieces of fight-booking news were announced yesterday after UFC Fight Night 30. First up, recent light-heavyweight title contender Alexander Gustafsson will face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira next. Secondly, Melvin Guillard gets another chance to “illegally attack” Ross Pearson after their fight Saturday was cut short by silly rules that are impossible to implement rationally.

Both fights will take place at a “Fight Night” event on March 8th when the UFC returns to London. Gustafsson, of course, is coming off of a very close decision loss to Jon Jones, while Nogueira is on a two fight win-streak, including his decision win over Rashad Evans earlier this year, and his TKO of Tito Ortiz way back in December 2011. Bones will face Glover Teixeira in his next bout, for some reason.

After Jones beats Teixeira and Gustafsson dispatches of Lil’ Nog (at least that’s what the UFC is betting on), Jones and his Swede challenger will once more lock horns. No word yet on who Daniel Cormier will get in his light heavyweight debut, yet.

How do you feel about all of this, nation? Would you rather just see Gustafsson fight Jones again in an immediate rematch than have another potentially epic fight jeopardized by a fight no one outside of the Teixeira household is particularly excited about? And if Jones and Gustafsson are not fighting each other next, isn’t it just a little bit awkward that their actual next opponents are being dismissed so easily?

What’s the point of doing a fight where we’re the winner is pretty much assumed and plans for them are already being made for afterwards? Sounds a lil boxing-esque in our book.

– Elias Cepeda

[VIDEO] Dana White Talks Bad Judging, Title Contenders & Much More at UFC 166 Post Event Press Scrum

UFC president Dana White spoke with assembled press after UFC 166 Saturday night in Houston. Per usual, all topics were on the table including judging, reffing, who is and isn’t on the chopping block and the future of the heavyweight and light heavyweight division title scene.

Who’s up next for Cain Velaszquez? Is there a chance Alexander Gustafsson and Daniel Cormier could fight next?

Check out Uncle Dana’s interesting and non-committal answers alike to these questions and more in the video above.

– Elias Cepeda


UFC president Dana White spoke with assembled press after UFC 166 Saturday night in Houston. Per usual, all topics were on the table including judging, reffing, who is and isn’t on the chopping block and the future of the heavyweight and light heavyweight division title scene.

Who’s up next for Cain Velaszquez? Is there a chance Alexander Gustafsson and Daniel Cormier could fight next?

Check out Uncle Dana’s interesting and non-committal answers alike to these questions and more in the video above.

– Elias Cepeda

Scratch That: Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira Is Not Happening on Super Bowl Weekend


(That’s Jon’s surprised face. It is usually followed by his angry face, which shifts directly into his “punching and kicking you” face. / Photo courtesy of Martin McNeil)

The UFC’s next Super Bowl weekend card just got a lot less Super. UFC president Dana White revealed today that contrary to earlier reports, UFC 169 (February 1st, Newark) won’t be headlined by the light-heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira. White was quick to throw his PR flacks under the bus, saying:

“That was never, ever a done deal. That’s going to be later. That was never a done deal. Our (public relations) people put it out, and they shouldn’t have.”

Though a new date for Jones/Teixeira is still TBA, White said the bout was likely to happen in March. In addition, Alexander Gustafsson is expected to fight around the same time in either Sweden or London, and if Jones and Gustafsson both win their next fights, “they 100 percent will fight next,” White said.

Anyway, our condolences go out to the people of Newark. We’ll update you when a real main event is finalized for UFC 169.


(That’s Jon’s surprised face. It is usually followed by his angry face, which shifts directly into his “punching and kicking you” face. / Photo courtesy of Martin McNeil)

The UFC’s next Super Bowl weekend card just got a lot less Super. UFC president Dana White revealed today that contrary to earlier reports, UFC 169 (February 1st, Newark) won’t be headlined by the light-heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira. White was quick to throw his PR flacks under the bus, saying:

“That was never, ever a done deal. That’s going to be later. That was never a done deal. Our (public relations) people put it out, and they shouldn’t have.”

Though a new date for Jones/Teixeira is still TBA, White said the bout was likely to happen in March. In addition, Alexander Gustafsson is expected to fight around the same time in either Sweden or London, and if Jones and Gustafsson both win their next fights, “they 100 percent will fight next,” White said.

Anyway, our condolences go out to the people of Newark. We’ll update you when a real main event is finalized for UFC 169.

5 Things We Learned About Alexander Gustafsson From His ‘On the Brink’ UFC 165 Documentary [VIDEO]

(Props: YouTube.com/FOXSports. Part 2 is after the jump.)

In the wake of Alexander Gustafsson‘s epic title fight against Jon Jones at UFC 165, FOX Sports 1 has released a behind-the-scenes mini-documentary that follows Gustafsson through some intimate moments leading up to and following the bout. We also learned a few new things about the Swedish star. For example…

1. That ‘no-fuss’ look hair style of Gustafsson’s does indeed require some fuss

We won’t admit to being exactly jealous of Gustafsson’s no-effort-needed, scruff-buff style but..ok, we were getting a little jealous. It’s hard enough being an MMA fan while watching a Georges St. Pierre fight while all the female fans within view are fawning over him. Recently, it seemed that Gustafsson was starting to get the same treatment. I mean, what does a brother have to do to simply watch a fight without being reminded of how inadequate he is?

Anyway, early in the ‘On the Brink’ doc, we see Gustafsson painstakingly mold his hair in front of a large mirror and then ask his room mate if it looked alright. Wait, was this whole first point a little weird? I’m starting to think it made me look weird…Next point!

2. Alexander Gustafsson believes that Jon Jones is “insecure”

Gustafsson wasn’t much for trash talk leading up to the Jones fight but in this segment he seemed agitated by Jones’ attitude. Jones’s perceived arrogance is the result of fundamental insecurity, according to Alexander. “He is insecure,” Gus says. “He likes looking down on people. Some people don’t see that but I see that.”

3. Gustafsson doesn’t cut a ton of weight, apparently

As Gustafsson gets into a cab on the Thursday before UFC 165, he tells the driver that he has just nine pounds left to go. “I’m 214,” he says. Now, nine pounds of weight lost in one day would be a lot to you and me, but the light heavyweight division has been home to some of the most monstrous cuts in UFC history from guys like Forrest Griffin and Quinton Jackson who have reportedly showed up to fight weeks well over twenty pounds above the 205 pound limit.

4. After the final horn, Gustafsson didn’t believe that he would was going to win the decision


(Props: YouTube.com/FOXSports. Part 2 is after the jump.)

In the wake of Alexander Gustafsson‘s epic title fight against Jon Jones at UFC 165, FOX Sports 1 has released a behind-the-scenes mini-documentary that follows Gustafsson through some intimate moments leading up to and following the bout. We also learned a few new things about the Swedish star. For example…

1. That ‘no-fuss’ look hair style of Gustafsson’s does indeed require some fuss

We won’t admit to being exactly jealous of Gustafsson’s no-effort-needed, scruff-buff style but..ok, we were getting a little jealous. It’s hard enough being an MMA fan while watching a Georges St. Pierre fight while all the female fans within view are fawning over him. Recently, it seemed that Gustafsson was starting to get the same treatment. I mean, what does a brother have to do to simply watch a fight without being reminded of how inadequate he is?

Anyway, early in the ‘On the Brink’ doc, we see Gustafsson painstakingly mold his hair in front of a large mirror and then ask his room mate if it looked alright. Wait, was this whole first point a little weird? I’m starting to think it made me look weird…Next point!

2. Alexander Gustafsson believes that Jon Jones is “insecure”

Gustafsson wasn’t much for trash talk leading up to the Jones fight but in this segment he seemed agitated by Jones’ attitude. Jones’s perceived arrogance is the result of fundamental insecurity, according to Alexander. “He is insecure,” Gus says. “He likes looking down on people. Some people don’t see that but I see that.”

3. Gustafsson doesn’t cut a ton of weight, apparently

As Gustafsson gets into a cab on the Thursday before UFC 165, he tells the driver that he has just nine pounds left to go. “I’m 214,” he says. Now, nine pounds of weight lost in one day would be a lot to you and me, but the light heavyweight division has been home to some of the most monstrous cuts in UFC history from guys like Forrest Griffin and Quinton Jackson who have reportedly showed up to fight weeks well over twenty pounds above the 205 pound limit.

4. After the final horn, Gustafsson didn’t believe that he would was going to win the decision

In part two of ‘On the Brink,’ (below) Gustafsson admitted that, though he hoped they would announce his name, he believed that the fight had been too close for the judges to award it to him. Not that he didn’t believe he didn’t deserve to win, just that he didn’t think they judges would give it to him.

5. Gustafsson Knows Exactly How to Beat Jones the Next Time Out

Far from dejected, Gustafsson claims he knows how to take it to Jones even more convincingly in their assumed rematch. “We will fight again,” he says. “And next time we fight, I know exactly what I will do.”

– Elias Cepeda

Alexander Gustafsson’s Head Coach Refutes Alliance Team Split…Or Does He?


(The often scruffy, always inscrutable Alexander Gustafsson | Photo via MMAnytt.se)

Yesterday we shared a report that quoted UFC light heavyweight champion contender Alexander Gustafsson as saying that he no longer planned to train in San Diego with the Alliance team or Phil Davis before fights. “Now I’m in that stage of my career that I will compete three or four times a year, so I can not hold on and go off all the time,” Gustafsson said. “It costs too much and it takes too much time away from my family. It’s simply not worth it.”

Furthermore, Gustafsson said that he believed that he and Davis would soon fight again so, you know…awkward. “We both belong to the top, and that’s not a difficult guess that we’ll meet again soon…it feels better to not train together right now,” Gus said.

Well, Gustafsson’s head trainer Andreas Michael is now saying that the media took the fighter’s words out of context. In an interview with Kimura.se the coach says that the media interpreted Gustafsson’s statements incorrectly in order to “sell” the news. Kimura.se reports that Michael also said that “the partnership between the Alliance and Alex / Allstar Fitness that it will continue cooperation for a long time to come. Thoughts on finishing the fine relationship that the two clubs have between them does not exist and has never existed.

“Rumors of a bout between Davis and Alex is also not [accurate], it is just something the media created out of thin air.”


(The often scruffy, always inscrutable Alexander Gustafsson | Photo via MMAnytt.se)

Yesterday we shared a report that quoted UFC light heavyweight champion contender Alexander Gustafsson as saying that he no longer planned to train in San Diego with the Alliance team or Phil Davis before fights. “Now I’m in that stage of my career that I will compete three or four times a year, so I can not hold on and go off all the time,” Gustafsson said. “It costs too much and it takes too much time away from my family. It’s simply not worth it.”

Furthermore, Gustafsson said that he believed that he and Davis would soon fight again so, you know…awkward. “We both belong to the top, and that’s not a difficult guess that we’ll meet again soon…it feels better to not train together right now,” Gus said.

Well, Gustafsson’s head trainer Andreas Michael is now saying that the media took the fighter’s words out of context. In an interview with Kimura.se the coach says that the media interpreted Gustafsson’s statements incorrectly in order to “sell” the news. Kimura.se reports that Michael also said that “the partnership between the Alliance and Alex / Allstar Fitness that it will continue cooperation for a long time to come. Thoughts on finishing the fine relationship that the two clubs have between them does not exist and has never existed.

“Rumors of a bout between Davis and Alex is also not [accurate], it is just something the media created out of thin air.”

Well, not so much “thin air” as they were Gustafsson’s own words, but alright. Michael certainly seems upsets by the reports of Gustafsson’s leaving Alliance but doesn’t actually refute any of the important specifics — namely that Alexander will hold his training camps in Sweden instead of San Diego from now on and that the Swedish fighter believes it is inevitable that he and Davis will fight again soon so he prefers not to train with the national champion wrestler right now.

If Gustafsson’s coach won’t refute any of the reported facts, why is he so upset? Who knows?

Perhaps Gustafsson wasn’t supposed to talk publicly about his plans before all the details could be worked out. It isn’t uncommon for teams to enter into business relationships in which fighters sign to train with and pay a percentage of their purses for a set period of time or number fights.

If that is/was the case with Gustafsson and Alliance, he may still need to figure out how to fulfill a contract to them and/or pay them fees even if he wants to train elsewhere. Alliance head coach Eric Del Fierro told MMA Junkie that he didn’t know how Gustafsson camps would proceed because he hadn’t been told, but seemed to express optimism that he and Alliance would still be able to work in consultation with the fighter, remotely, as they did before Alexander trained to fight Gegard Mousasi.

– Elias Cepeda

Alexander Gustafsson Leaves Alliance MMA and Phil Davis Behind, Opts to Hold Future Training Camps in Sweden


(Image via Getty)

Alexander Gustafsson fought better than ever at UFC 165 in challenging light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Even though he lost on the official score cards, many observers felt that the Swede did enough to become the new champion, and the conventional wisdom was that his training with former foe Phil Davis at the Alliance MMA camp in San Diego was key to Alexander’s improvement.

Gustafsson has announced, however, that he will no longer conduct training camps with the Alliance team nor train with Phil Davis, according to a report from MMA Junkie. “Now I’m in that stage of my career that I will compete three or four times a year, so I can not hold on and go off all the time,” Gustafsson said in a recent interview with Aftonbladet. “It costs too much and it takes too much time away from my family. It’s simply not worth it.”

It may be that Gustafsson believes that he and Davis will be fighting one another again and wants to avoid the untenable situation of fighting a teammate. The two big men fought one another at UFC 112 in 2010, with Davis earning a first-round submission win. Since that time, Gustafsson has trained alongside Davis at Alliance, improving his wrestling skills by working with the former national champion out of Penn State.

“We belong to both the top, and that’s not a difficult guess that we’ll meet again soon,” Gustafsson explained. “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.”


(Image via Getty)

Alexander Gustafsson fought better than ever at UFC 165 in challenging light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Even though he lost on the official score cards, many observers felt that the Swede did enough to become the new champion, and the conventional wisdom was that his training with former foe Phil Davis at the Alliance MMA camp in San Diego was key to Alexander’s improvement.

Gustafsson has announced, however, that he will no longer conduct training camps with the Alliance team nor train with Phil Davis, according to a report from MMA Junkie. “Now I’m in that stage of my career that I will compete three or four times a year, so I can not hold on and go off all the time,” Gustafsson said in a recent interview with Aftonbladet. “It costs too much and it takes too much time away from my family. It’s simply not worth it.”

It may be that Gustafsson believes that he and Davis will be fighting one another again and wants to avoid the untenable situation of fighting a teammate. The two big men fought one another at UFC 112 in 2010, with Davis earning a first-round submission win. Since that time, Gustafsson has trained alongside Davis at Alliance, improving his wrestling skills by working with the former national champion out of Penn State.

“We belong to both the top, and that’s not a difficult guess that we’ll meet again soon,” Gustafsson explained. “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.”

“We do not train with each other as much anymore,” Gustafsson said flatly.

Alliance head trainer Eric Del Fierro expressed surprise at Gustafsson’s decision. According to Del Fierro, an injury sustained by Davis recently prevented he and Gustafsson from training much together in advance of UFC 165 but that prior to that the two had no apparent problems working with one another.

What do you think, nation? Is Gustafsson sensing that the UFC will pit him against his friend Davis once again since they have opted to give Glover Teixeira the next shot at Jones?

Will Davis and Gustafsson’s ebony and ivory buddy cop friendship survive this latest riff and a possible second fight? And can Gustafsson continue to improve as much in Sweden, without the help of Davis and Del Fierro?

– Elias Cepeda