Alexander Gustafsson was in a tough spot.
The last time he stepped into the Octagon, the talented Swedish light heavyweight pushed divisional kingpin Jon Jones to the brink in a Fight of the Year-winning battle at UFC 165. In those 25 minutes, Gustafsson established himself as one of the 205-pound weight class’ elite competitors and the first real rival for the dominant champion Jones.
Many wanted to see him get an immediate rematch, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, in order for the 27-year-old standout from Stockholm to secure a second crack at championship gold, he would first have to get through unbeaten British knockout artist Jimi Manuwa, in London no less.
While not quite a no-win situation, it wasn’t exactly a high upside matchup either. Gustafsson needed to win and was expected to win, and anything less than a dominant victory would likely lead to some questions about whether “The Mauler” or UFC 170 winner Daniel Cormier should be next in line to challenge for the light heavyweight title.
Saturday at the O2 Arena, Gustafsson cemented his place at the head of the list of contenders with a blistering second-round stoppage win over Manuwa in the UFC Fight Night main event.
Following a first round spent largely on the canvas, where Gustafsson continued to show his improvement and development, the rangy Swede planted a devastating knee on the chin of Manuwa in the clinch that immediately turned his legs to jelly early in the second. A pair of sharp uppercuts followed, Manuwa fell to the floor, and the bout was waved off.
This was the type of emphatic performance Gustafsson needed to remove possibility of Cormier cutting to the head of the line, a fact Cormier acknowledged on Twitter after the finish:
Good luck @AlexTheMauler in ur title fight. Dang! Haha my time will come. DC
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) March 8, 2014
After the bout, Gustafsson snatched the microphone away from Dan Hardy and called out Jones, who has to get through Glover Teixeira at UFC 172 before these two can dance one more time.
A side note to the main event: the MMA revisionists are quickly picking away at Manuwa’s run up to this fight now that the bout is over, but having watched the contest a couple times already, he clearly tagged Gustafsson with a couple solid body shots, ripped off a handful of heavy leg kicks, and just missed on some overhand rights that still made “The Mauler” defend and circle out.
Don’t write the guy off or downgrade him to “not that good in the first place” status because he lost to the No. 1 contender in the division.
Here’s a look at the match-ups I would make for the rest of the main card fighters.
Jimi Manuwa vs. Ryan Bader
Bader is firmly established as a lower-end top 10 light heavyweight, and is the kind of established name Manuwa needs to beat in order to silence the critics that want to pick apart his resume.
Stylistically, it’s a tough match-up for each guy, as Manuwa will have to contend with Bader’s wrestling, but the former TUF winner will need to tuck his chin and avoid striking exchanges with the dangerous finisher.
With a number of European dates on the schedule in the second half of 2014 this could be a solid co-main event or third fight on the card if the UFC opts to stack one of the line-ups.
Michael Johnson vs. Donald Cerrone/Edson Barboza Winner
“The Menace” ran his winning streak to three with a unanimous decision win over Melvin Guillard in a tentative, less-exciting-than-expected co-main event on Saturday. Most of the responsibility for that falls on Guillard’s shoulders though, as Johnson was looking to engage and called on his former teammate a number of times to no avail.
The former TUF finalist has found a nice rhythm in the cage of late, playing to his strengths and using his footwork and athleticism to earn wins over tough veterans Joe Lauzon, Gleison Tibau and now Guillard. That kind of run should get him a step up in competition next time out.
Whoever emerges from the April UFC on FOX barnburner between Cerrone and Barboza seems like the right match-up to me—both will be on solid runs in the division and have the aggressive offence to push Johnson, something his recent opponents have failed to do.
Brad Pickett vs. Demetrious Johnson
Do I think Pickett earned a flyweight title shot with his unanimous decision win over late replacement Neil Seery on Saturday? Absolutely not, but given the fact that he’s one of the two men to beat Johnson thus far in his career, I have a feeling the UFC will fast track him to a title shot.
My guess is this summer in Vancouver.
As much as people will want to look at their first fight as reason for Pickett to have more than a puncher’s chance, it came four years ago, Johnson has improved immensely, and Pickett really struggles with faster opponents with clean striking. If it happens, “Mighty Mouse” will finish him; I’m calling it now.
Gunnar Nelson vs. Mike Pyle
First things first, Nelson is a joy to watch. The straight left hand that dropped Omari Akhmedov was beautiful, his transitions on the ground were effortless, and the finish was clinical. He’s a legit contender.
But since there is no need to rush him all the way up the welterweight ranks just yet, resetting him with Pyle is an easy decision. They were scheduled to fight last year before Nelson hurt his knee, and with Pyle coming off a TKO win last month, the timing lines up. Plus, “Quicksand” is the kind of savvy vet an emerging contender like Nelson needs to get through before he can start swimming with the sharks at the top of the division.