Alexander Gustafsson on Title Fight with Jon Jones: I Will Win This Fight, There’s No Doubt

It’s pretty rare in the fight game for a fighter to reveal his game plan prior to a bout, but Alexander Gustafsson isn’t hiding his strategy to defeat light heavyweight champion Jon Jones at UFC 165.

Jones is known to meticulously study video of his opponents in preparation for fights, but Gustafsson has been doing his homework as well.

“I’m studying a lot too. I do. And we try to break down Jon, his last fights, into pieces and try to move through everything. That’s what we do and how my coaches do it,” said Gustafsson on a recent media conference call.  “And I have 100-percent full trust in my coaches. I’m doing my homework here too, so just getting ready.”

Gustafsson’s training camp has been split between training in his native Stockholm and stateside at the Alliance Training Center in San Diego.  Camp has gone well and he believes that he’s ready to take Jones’ title on Sept. 21.

“The camp has been great. I’ve been home in Stockholm and I’ve been here with Team Alliance in San Diego. They’re great coaches, we have great guys I’m training with here. We’ve been taking in guys helping me out. So, I’ve just been blessed having such a good camp, and having such great guys around me. So, I’m just feeling great and I’m feeling ready,” he said.

“I’ve been training with a lot of guys the same as Jon, in many different weights, and I try always to be a better Alex for every fight. That’s what I try to do. I’m training my ass off and I just do improvements every day. And I’m feeling great and I can’t wait,” said the light heavyweight contender.

Gustafsson usually has a reach advantage over most of his opponents, but Jones has the longest reach in the division.  Despite being at a reach disadvantage, Gustafsson expects to win the fight on his feet.

“It’s not always about reach. It’s about footwork, it’s being fast, in and out. Stuff like that. And I’m really making sure I’ve really done my homework here and I’m super motivated,” he said.  “I will win this fight, me staying on the outside.  No doubt about it.”