Alexander Gustafsson Thinks UFC Fight Night 37 Airing Only On Fight Pass ‘Sucks A Little Bit’

No. 1-ranked Swedish mixed martial artist Alexander Gustafsson nearly stopped UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones’ record-setting sixth straight title defense at last September’s UFC 165 in Toronto. “The Mauler” became the first man to take “Bones” to the mat, almost scoring the biggest upset in UFC history in the process.

Instead, Jones outlasted Gustafsson with a controversial decision, breaking the record he shared with Tito Ortiz and moving on to face Glover Teixeira at UFC 172 in Baltimore this April 27. While it was initially thought that Gustafsson deserved and would get an immediate rematch, “The Mauler” was booked in a sort of lose-lose proposition against largely unknown but very dangerous (and undefeated) prospect Jimi Manuwa.

Gustafsson is set to face off with “Poster Boy” in the main event of this weekend’s UFC Fight Night 7, airing live on Fight Pass at 3 p.m. EST from the O2 Arena in London. He appeared on today’s “The MMA Hour” to discuss fighting the power-striking Brit Manuwa in his own backyard, noting that he wasn’t all that surprised at the booking:

“No, not really, I didn’t think about it that much actually. I’m fighting anyone, so that doesn’t really matter to me. I think it’s a good match-up because he’s a European and me too, he’s a very entertaining fighter and I think we have a similar style, so I think it’s a great match-up.”

Ariel Helwani continued to ask Gustafsson about wanting a higher-ranked opponent, to which “The Mauler” reiterated that those thoughts don’t bother him because Manuwa is more dangerous than many of the fighters currently ranked above him:

“Well, no, not really; I’m just fighting whoever, and I think Jimi Manuwa is a very dangerous fighter. I think, you know, with this rankings system, I don’t know, he’s a lot better than the guys that are actually high- ranked in our division, so I think he’s a very dangerous fighter. And he’s sneaking around the shadows; nobody knows about him but he’s very dangerous, so I’m really looking forward to the fight on Saturday.”

When questioned about UFC Fight Night airing only on Fight Pass, which may cut into a substantial amount of “The Mauler’s” spotlight, Gustafsson replied:

“That sucks a little bit; I didn’t even know about that until a few weeks ago, I don’t know. But a fight is a fight; it doesn’t matter to me, I’m just going in there, I’m going to win the fight. I had a great camp, and I’m more than ready.

I was a little bit shocked because I went from a title fight to a fight that only shows on the Internet, so I was a little bit, I didn’t know what to think, but you know, it doesn’t matter, actually it doesn’t matter to me. It’s nothing that I put any energy in thinking about. I’m just going to win there on Saturday and fight the best fight.”

Gustafsson seems to have a calm, positive attitude about fighting a lower-ranked opponent on a card that will be largely missed by many of the people who witnessed his classic title bout versus Jones. Still, he knows he’s a big star for the UFC in Europe, and will continue to put on great fights there.

Will “The Mauler” make quick work of Manuwa to get right back in the title mix?