Alexander Gustafsson Headed For Knee Surgery, Says He Will Take The Belt From Jon Jones
UFC light-heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson was one half of what was arguably the best fight of 2012. UFC 165 played host to the rousing five-round affair, as ‘The Mauler’ pushed champion Jon Jones further than anyone ever has. The Swede came very close to winning the belt that night, and earned another shot at ‘Bones’ this year with a thrashing of Jimi Manuwa.
Once again the injury curse reared it’s ugly head, and Gus was forced out of his bout against Jones, and swiftly replaced by surging 205-pounder Daniel Cormier. Speaking with MMAFighting.com,Gustafsson described his knee injury:
“I was in training, and I was sparring, I felt like something popped in my knee. It happened twice in one sparring session, but when I got home and woke up the next day, I couldn’t really stand on my leg. I trained twice that day too, and I pushed through, but when I had it checked out the meniscus on my right knee was torn. It needed surgery, I have it tomorrow at 11am.”
The injury put a halt to the much anticipated second showdown between Gus and Jones, but the Swedish native will remain next in line for the title shot. Now forced to watch and wait for recovery, the question is now who will be champion after UFC 178. Gustafsson continues:
“I know I can take that belt, so it was very hard for me to not have that fight. I’m going to come back stronger than ever, better than ever. I want my title, the fans want to see that fight too. I believe I beat (Jones at UFC 165), and I will beat him better the next time we fight. I have the right system to beat him. No disrespect to DC, he is very talented, but I believe Jones will win that fight. If I’m going to take the belt from anybody, I want it to be from Jones.”
Sounding hungrier than ever, it’s easy to see that ‘The Mauler’ is desperate to fight Jones again, and why not? The first fight was razor tight in the eyes of many fans, and was thoroughly entertaining at the same time.
“DC fits Jones quite well, when it comes to his reach, it’s going to be a tough fight though for sure. I want Jones to fight me, I don’t want him to forget about me. What can I say? He didn’t beat me clearly, I believe I won more rounds. Yeah, I got my chance but it’s not over. He knows I’m a bad fight for him, we are both long, but I’m the fastest guy in that division, and I believe I’m the best striker in the division.”
Time will tell whether Jones can get through another battle with Gustafsson, but the difficulty that would arise with a Cormier victory at UFC 178 could throw a spanner in the works. If the smaller man can upset Jones, then Gus may be forced to fight again while an immediate rematch goes down.
‘Bones’ has been so dominant in beating the top talent at 205 pounds, but is it time for Gus or DC to take the throne? If not, heavyweight may be calling for the undisputed light-heavyweight king.
