Alexander Gustafsson Says The Risk Against Jimi Manuwa ‘Motivates Me To Train Harder’

Alexander Gustafsson will square off against Jimi Manuwa in the main event of the UFC’s March 8 visit to London, England. The pairing was quite an unusual one considering Gus is the #1 contender at light-heavyweight, and Manuwa (now #11) was ranked as 10 at the time of the bout’s announcement.

The risk carried by this fight falls squarely on the shoulders of Gustafsson, who was deserving of a rematch of his UFC 165 barn burner against Jon Jones. ‘The mauler’ stopped by with IVT Sports, via fighters only to discuss the upcoming scrap with ‘Poster Boy’:

“If you lose you’re back to square one, that’s how tough it is in this business. Everything is about defending the position in the rankings. I know what’s what. At the same time it motivates me to train even harder,”

Gustafsson has proved himself as a top level contender during his tenure with the promotion; racking up a 7-2 record and claiming the scalps of Shogun Rua, Thiago Silva and James Te Huna just to name a few. Gus then commented on his 165 title shot match with ‘Bones’:

“I have received both attention and more reputation for it, which of course has been positive. But it was a loss for me. Nothing else. I was thinking about it for a long time afterwards and it pissed me off. But now I have put that behind me and its time to move forward.”

It is a good sign that Gus has put the disappointment of that night behind him. Many fans felt that Gustafsson had done enough to win, as did many pundits, promoters and fighters. The fact is the judges will score different fights to mixed opinions, and the best way to win is to get a finish.

‘The Mauler’ is now faced with the challenge of a dangerous, lower ranked contender who has finished all 14 of his opponents. Three consecutive UFC finishes have landed Manuwa in deep water with a number one contender, but a knockout would almost certainly seal Manuwa’s case for a shot, or contender match at the very minimum.

If Gus wins, then he is clearly the next in line for a title shot. With the champion Jones scheduled to meet Glover Teixeira at UFC 173, we could see the title picture dramatically change in the very near future.