Alexander Gustafsson is a Swedish mixed martial artist. He is one of the strongest UFC light heavyweight fighters. On his account there are already many bright and beautiful victories, but he has not yet managed to win the champion title in this category.
The early years and the first fight in the UFC
Alexander Gustafsson was born in the small Swedish town of Arbug on January 15, 1987. Here, at the age of ten, he began to engage in boxing.
In 2005, young Alexander had problems with the law - he was sent to prison for 15 months for beating a man. In 2006, immediately after his release, Gustafsson became interested in mixed martial arts. First, he performed in promotions in Europe, and in 2009 signed a contract with UFC - the most famous MMA organization in the world at the moment.
Gustafsson made his debut at the UFC on November 14, 2009. His first opponent here was Jared Hamman. And already in the first round at 41 seconds, a powerful Swede knocked out Hamman with a right-handed kick - so this fight was won.
Further career in mixed martial arts
Gustafsson's second rival was a very experienced fighter - Phil Davis. Phil and Alexander met in the octagon on April 10, 2010 as part of the UFC 112 show. And this meeting ended in defeat for the Swedish MMA fighter. Phil Davis held an insidious asphyxiation, and Gustafsson had to give up.
Then the Swedish fighter won as many as six fights in a row (in particular, he defeated the Brazilian Tiago Silva, Belarusian Vladimir Tymoshenko and New Zealander James Te-Hoon). This allowed him to go into the octagon against John Jones and compete with him for the league title. This fight took place in Toronto on September 21, 2013. The fight lasted all five rounds, after which the judges unanimously decided that Jones was still stronger.
On October 3, 2015, Gustafsson again got a real opportunity to compete for the UFC light heavyweight champion title - this time against American Daniel Cormier. Gustafsson in that battle was very close to victory, he managed to carry out several really good attacks. Anyway, at the end of the fifth round, the judges again had to determine the winner. And their opinions were divided. One judge considered that the Swede had defeated, and the other two, that Cormier. Naturally, in the end, the title remained with the American.
Then Gustafsson won two more fights in the octagon - against Jan Blokhovich and Glover Teixeira. And on December 30, 2018, he had another chance to become a UFC champion. Alas, Gustafsson did not use this chance. Gustafsson's rival in the fight for the champion belt, as in 2013, was John Jones. In the third round, he knocked out the Swede, thereby closing the question of who today is the best fighter among light heavyweights.
In total at the moment, Gustafsson’s statistics are as follows: he spent 23 fights, and won in 18 of them. But you need to keep in mind that his career is still ongoing. The next Gustafsson fight will be held, according to available information, on June 1, 2019. The opponent of the Swede will be a fighter named Anthony Smith.
