UFC president Dana White says top light-heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson likely needs to fight once more before earning another title shot.
Gustafsson was originally scheduled to face Jon Jones in the main event of UFC 178 on Sept. 27 in a rematch of their 2013 Fight of the Year from UFC 165, but Gustafsson was forced out of the bout in July with a knee injury and replaced by Daniel Cormier.
However, Jones vs Cormier was recently just pushed back to Jan. 3 after Jones, ironically, suffered a knee injury.
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“I just heard the news that Jones is injured and the fight is rescheduled to January 3,” Gustafsson wrote on Facebook. “Until then, I will be more than ready, it was MY fight to begin with and I WANT the fight as the number 1 contender. End of story!”
Gustafsson (16-2) is coming off a TKO win over British striker Jimi Manuwa and the Swede’s manager Manos Terzitane told UFC Tonight earlier this week that Gustafsson doesn’t want to fight unless it’s for the title.
Unfortunately for Gustafsson, White doesn’t seem keen on the idea of another opponent switch.
“Gustafsson is upset, but it’s not like we took Gustafsson out of the fight. Gustafsson got hurt and he’s out,” White told ufc.com. “Cormier stepped in and accepted the fight and this is the fight that is going to happen now. The reality is we had Gustafsson vs Jones, he was the No. 1 contender, that was the fight. He got hurt. He fell out of the fight. Well, people can say, ‘Now Jones is hurt.’ Well yeah, but this is the fight that’s happening now.”
White added that a fight between Gustafsson and fellow 205-pound contender Anthony Johnson makes sense.
“Gustafsson will probably fight again,” White said. “We’ll probably do another fight for him. He’ll probably fight again to stay active, stay top of mind and the guy has to make money.”
Johnson (18-4) has been an unstoppable force since moving up to the light-heavyweight division. Johnson, who used to compete in the UFC at 170 pounds, has won two straight in the UFC and eight in a row overall. He dominated Phil Davis by unanimous decision at UFC 172 in April and is coming off a 44-second knockout of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC on FOX: Lawler vs Brown in July.
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