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Alexander Gustafsson Wants Immediate Rematch Against Jon Jones

Alexander Gustafsson came as close as any fighter ever has to dethroning UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones at UFC 165 on Saturday night, and he wants another chance against Jones as soon as possible.
The Swedish fighter opened up a slew of cuts …

The Swedish fighter opened up a slew of cuts on the champion’s face while battering him with punches throughout the five-round affair. To his credit, however, Jones battled back and caught Gustafsson with an array of kicks, nearly finishing the fight in the fourth round after a brutal elbow landed flush on the side of his opponent’s head.

When it was all over, Jones won a unanimous decision, and while there are a bevy of potential adjectives that can describe his performance, dominant isn’t one of them.

Gustafsson did to Jones what no fighter has ever done before—he figured out the puzzle to put the pound-for-pound best in deep trouble, and he forced a tough decision out of the judges.

For his part, the 6’5″ Swede knows it was a razor-close decision, and he believes the only way to truly snatch the gold away from the champion is to finish him. He was unable to do that on Saturday night.

“I learned a lot from this fight. He’s the champ. To take the belt from the champ you have to finish him,” Gustafsson said during the UFC 165 post-fight show on Fox Sports 2. “The biggest lesson is I have to push the pace harder. I just did what I thought I could do, and it wasn’t enough. I will come back stronger and better. I’m disappointed, but I’m very proud of what I did and my team.”

Immediately after the fight was over, the general consensus was that an automatic rematch should be granted to Gustafsson. UFC president Dana White acknowledged the appeal of a rematch at the UFC 165 post-fight press conference, as noted by UFC Tonight on Twitter.

At the same time, there is a top contender named Glover Teixeira currently waiting in the wings for his shot at Jones.

While he may be able to live with the decision on Saturday night, Gustafsson has no doubts that he wants a rematch with the champion as soon as the UFC could put it together—and above all else, he believes he deserves it.

“Absolutely. I want a rematch right away,” Gustafsson said. “But it’s up to the UFC. It’s an honor to fight Jon.”

Right now, Gustafsson is the popular pick to receive the fight against Jones, but it’s rare that a challenger will have a close decision against the champion and earn an automatic rematch. On the heels of such an amazing performance, however, Gustafsson could be the one the UFC deems worthy of such a rematch.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.

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Renan Barao vs. Eddie Wineland Fight Video: Highlights from Barao’s Knockout Win

UFC 165 went down Saturday night in Toronto. In the co-main event, interim champion Renan Barao defended his belt against underdog challenger Eddie Wineland.
Wineland started strong, using various types of feints to avoid Barao’s deadly striking game a…

UFC 165 went down Saturday night in Toronto. In the co-main event, interim champion Renan Barao defended his belt against underdog challenger Eddie Wineland.

Wineland started strong, using various types of feints to avoid Barao‘s deadly striking game and keep the champ guessing. In fact, a case could easily be made that Wineland won the opening round.

Less than 30 seconds into the second stanza, however, Barao rendered the case moot with a spinning back kick that landed hard on Wineland‘s skull. A few academic ground strikes later and Barao had a TKO victory. After the fight, UFC president Dana White announced Barao had received a $50,000 bonus for the Knockout of the Night. It was Barao‘s second consecutive post-fight bonus; in February he took home a Submission of the Night bonus for his arm triangle choke on Michael McDonald.

In addition, the win further cemented Barao as the best bantamweight MMA fighter in the world, perhaps even above lineal champ Dominick Cruz, who has been out of action for about two years following surgeries to repair a torn ACL. Barao, 26, is now unbeaten over his past 32 fights, a streak spanning more than eight years. Barao is also a perfect 6-0 in the UFC Octagon.

It is unclear what the future may hold for Barao. Cruz recently stated he would be ready to return to action in early 2014. At the same time, however, White has said he might strip Cruz of the title if he cannot adhere to that schedule. Both Barao and Cruz have openly expressed a desire to meet in a title unification bout. The two have never fought.

While the situation with Cruz remains fluid, the most obvious option for another title defense might be Urijah Faber. However, Faber lost to Barao in July 2012 when the two fought for the bantamweight strap. Brazilian Raphael Assuncao could be another possibility.

Did you miss the fight Saturday night? We have you covered. Here is a package of video highlights courtesy of our friends at Fox Sports.

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UFC 165 Full Fight Video Highlights: Watch Jon Jones Face Alexander Gustafsson

UFC 165 took a while to develop, but when it did it yielded the presumptive “fight of the year” winner and maybe the best light heavyweight MMA fight of all time.
Champ Jon Jones was supposed to have an easy time with underdog Alexander Gustafsson. Gus…

UFC 165 took a while to develop, but when it did it yielded the presumptive “fight of the year” winner and maybe the best light heavyweight MMA fight of all time.

Champ Jon Jones was supposed to have an easy time with underdog Alexander Gustafsson. Gustafsson had his own plan. The challenger peppered Jones with strikes early and often, and even landed a takedown on Jones—the first successful takedown completed against Jones in a fight—in the first round while repelling Jones’ own takedown attempts.

Looking wiped out and bleeding from a substantial cut over his right eye, Jones had to dig deeper than he ever has in his pro MMA career. And he did, finding the timing on his spinning elbow and firing his head kick to good effect as the fight moved along. Jones probably sealed the victory in the fifth and final round by landing his only takedown of the contest and punishing an exhausted Gustafsson with high kicks.

Plenty of fans and pundits tweeted sentiments in favor of both fighters.

Jones retained his title with a unanimous-decision victory, winning 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 on the judges’ scorecards. With the win, Jones leapfrogged Tito Ortiz in the record books for the most consecutive defenses of the light heavyweight title (six). At age 26, Jones is 19-1 as a pro fighter, including a 13-1 mark in the UFC that includes a 10-fight winning streak.

After the bout, Jones limped out of the cage, and subsequently was taken to the hospital for treatment. At the post-fight news conference, UFC president Dana White said Gustafsson was also en route to the hospital.

Though there was plenty of disagreement over the judges’ decision, there was no disputing the fight’s status as an instant classic, and an immediate rematch appears to be a possibility.

If you missed the event, we have you covered with video highlights from the full fight, courtesy of our friends at Fox Sports.

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UFC 165: Doctor Wanted to Stop Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson Due to Cut

In Round 1 of the new classic between UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and top contender Alexander Gustafsson, the challenger landed a left hand. Only one knuckle landed, but that was enough to peel skin from bone, opening up an ugly cut along …

Eighteen minutes later, after dozens of punches from the hard-hitting Swede had landed to Jones’ head, the ringside doctor had seen enough. He wanted to wave things to a close.

According to an interview that aired on Fox Sports 2’s UFC 165 post-fight coverage between UFC President Dana White and Fox Sports reporter Ariel Helwani, if not for impassioned pleas from Jones and for the fight’s referee, veteran third man in the cage “Big” John McCarthy, we would have a new light heavyweight champion right now.

Jones, obviously, took a huge amount of damage over the course of the fight. By the end of the brawl, his lips were fattened, his forehead and eyebrows were covered in welts, his nose was possibly broken and both of his eyes were nearly swollen shut. A doctor’s stoppage, while perhaps warranted given the location and severity of the cut, would have been a major disappointment.

This isn’t the first time Jones has come dangerously close to a doctor’s stoppage.

In his UFC 159 bout with Chael Sonnen, Jones dislocated his left foot’s big toe so badly, it broke through the skin and was an open, gaping wound. While Jones went on to win via first-round TKO, if the fight had gone to a second round it almost certainly would’ve been called off by the doctors.

Obviously, Jones would go on to defeat Gustafsson via unanimous decision. Still, it’s very interesting to wonder what might have been.

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Alexander Gustafsson Hospitalized After Fight with Jon Jones

Alexander Gustafsson has reportedly been hospitalized after an epic five-round battle with Jon Jones at UFC 165.
UFC President Dana White broke the news during the post-fight press conference immediately following the fight:

So you want to know what a…

Alexander Gustafsson has reportedly been hospitalized after an epic five-round battle with Jon Jones at UFC 165.

UFC President Dana White broke the news during the post-fight press conference immediately following the fight:

So you want to know what a good fight that was? Neither the champ or the challenger will be here. Jones is already at the hospital, and they’re taking Gustafsson to the hospital. That’s how good that fight was. I don’t think we’ve ever had that happen.

Gustafsson, who was a major underdog coming into the bout, gave the light heavyweight champ all he could handle for 25 minutes in a bout garnering early attention as a potential “Fight of the Year” candidate.

Jones was awarded a close unanimous decision in the end, but with the victory, he may have also found his first legitimate rival.

Gustafsson wasn’t the only fighter making a trip to the hospital, as both fighters left the cage bloodied and battered.

After the fight, ESPN’s Brett Okamoto broke the news that Jones had been loaded on a stretcher and immediately taken to the hospital.

White wasn’t able to elaborate on the injuries for either fighter during the post-fight presser.

Gustafsson took several elbows from Jones on the feet throughout the bout. One in particular in the fourth round dazed him and opened up a huge gash on his forehead.

Much has been made about Gustafsson matching Jones’ size and reach, but perhaps the most overlooked advantages for Gustafsson heading into the bout were his superior speed and footwork.

Jones appeared completely dumbfounded at times, as Gustafsson shuffled in and out of range. The Swede’s much-improved wrestling was definitely something to behold. Along with being the first man to put Jones on his back in the UFC, Gustafsson was also able to fend off nearly every takedown attempt from the champ.

MMA fans are already clamoring for a rematch, but White remained noncommittal at the post-fight press conference.

According to White, the decision will likely depend on the severity of the injuries.

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Jones vs. Gustafsson: Reliving Pivotal Moments from UFC 165 Main Event

Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson was supposed to be a breeze for the champion. Right? Apparently not.
Jones was a 9-to-1 favorite to successfully defend his belt, but that didn’t prevent he and challenger Gustafsson from turning in one of the closest…

Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson was supposed to be a breeze for the champion. Right? Apparently not.

Jones was a 9-to-1 favorite to successfully defend his belt, but that didn’t prevent he and challenger Gustafsson from turning in one of the closest and most exciting fights in light heavyweight history.

On Saturday night, the UFC gave fans an incredible main event that will be talked about for a long time. Let’s take a look at some of the pivotal moments from the UFC 165 main event.

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