Alexander Gustafsson Officially Out of UFC on Fuel TV 9 Headliner

SMMAF President George Sallfeldt on Sunday told Sherdog.com’s Ryan O’Leary that there was a “99-percent chance” that Gustafsson would not be cleared in time to compete. The Swedish regulatory body today made that decision official in a statement:

“According to SMMAF regulations, the competitors in a match shall be examined by the certified appointed match doctor prior to the match. The examination is always carried out the day before the match; this is to safeguard that a competitor shall never be cleared for a match earlier than the day before the match.

“In the case of Alexander Gustafsson, there was a request for an early indicative medical examination which was immediately performed on March 30 (Easter Eve). The federation doctors that performed the examination informed Gustafsson that his injury was of such a nature that it was very unlikely that he would be medically cleared for a match in the near future. These doctors did not have a mandate to stop the match at the time of that examination.

“The SMMAF Medical Committee has today reviewed the circumstances regarding Gustafsson and his injury. The SMMAF Medical Committee recognizes that a competitor cannot be medically cleared earlier than the day before the match. However, bearing in mind that a correct medical examination that met the regulatory demands has been performed, nothing in the SMMAF regulations hinders the SMMAF Medical Committee from making a decision to stop Gustafsson from competing. As it is clear that Gustafsson will not be fit to compete as planned and cannot be medically cleared on Friday the [fifth] of April, the SMMAF Medical Committee has today decided that Alexander Gustafsson will not be allowed to participate in the planned match on April 6.”

It is currently unknown what will become of the UFC on Fuel TV 9 main event, and the UFC has not yet released a statement on the matter. The evening’s main card airs live on Fuel TV and will also feature a lightweight showdown between Ross Pearson and Ryan Couture.