Gustafsson holds a unique place in the 205-pound division as the only fighter to have competed against both Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier. He took each man to the limit, nearly defeating them both but suffering decision losses that were controversial at the time.
As Volkan Oezdemir is ready for his title shot against Daniel Cormier, Gustafsson has just had a successful surgery and has returned to training. When he returns, he wants another chance at UFC light heavyweight gold against whoever wins.
Jones, of course, has beaten Cormier twice but went into conflict with USADA after the second fight and the title was given back to Cormier. So which one does Gustafsson think is better? Regardless of what Jones was on or wasn’t on, Gustafsson wants to run it back again with Bones to find out who is better once and for all.
Alexander Gustafsson was recently speaking on MMA Hour:
“He has the belt, and I want to fight Cormier again for sure. I want the belt. But the real champion is Jon Jones, of course, because he has been destroying everybody in the division. Everything that he’s done, nobody has done it before. So to me, he is the real champion, but I do accept DC (as) a champion too. He is a good guy, good fighter and the only guy he lost to is Jon Jones. He is the real deal and champion material.”
He also wasn’t shocked by Jones’ latest controversies, considering how many times he has gotten himself into trouble previously.
“I wasn’t shocked, I wasn’t surprised. I feel sorry for him. What can I say? I just feel sorry for him. New things come up all the time, and I am not surprised at all. I just feel sorry for him. It’s bad for him; it’s bad for the sport.
“Look, what he did to DC. He’s a beast, and nobody has done what he’s done. He’s just getting caught over and over again. It must be something wrong there. You just don’t do that if you…he’s just making wrong decision all the time and I feel sorry for him, basically.”
Jon Jones future is sidelined due to drug test failure until his pending day in court.
Gustafsson is coming off a fifth-round KO win over Glover Teixeira while Cormier will defend his title against surging contender Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 220.
