Alexander Gustafsson found himself on the wrong end of a major upset at UFC on Fox 14. In less than three minutes, Anthony Johnson had stopped him via vicious strikes in front of scores of his countrymen.
As emotion poured out from his face, Gustafsson has been knocked from No. 1 contender status. His opportunity to rematch against Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title is not completely dashed; instead, it will take the Swedish competitor more time to reach that point for the second time in his career.
Gustafsson has been campaigning for a rematch against Jones since the controversial finish of their fight at UFC 165 in 2013. He had the fight scheduled to occur at UFC 178, but an injury would force him from the card and give the title shot to Daniel Cormier (via UFC.com). Unfortunately, after this fight with Johnson, Gustafsson knows that he isn't any closer to the rematch that he seeks.
“No, right now its done. I need to recover,” Gustafsson said during the post-fight press conference (video via MMA Fighting). “I'm out of that dream. I need to get back and work harder.”
With his defeat, Alexander should expect to fall down the UFC rankings, but not by much. Coming into the fight, the UFC had him ranked in the No. 1 position. Johnson was sitting at No. 3, with only Daniel Cormier between them. Gustafsson may fall a few slots in this list, but that should not count him out of the equation for a number of reasons.
First and foremost, injuries are always a concern with big fights within the UFC. As mentioned, Gustafsson's original rematch against Jones was postponed because of Gustafsson's injury. Then Jones was also hurt a few short weeks later (via SI.com). If Johnson was to suffer an injury during preparation for his title shot against Jones, Gustafsson would have to be one of the first names to fill in as top contender.
On the other hand, Gustafsson could earn his way back if he can pull off a few solid victories. With Ryan Bader's win over Phil Davis, a matchup against Gustafsson would help the winner of that fight earn attention as a new contender to the title.
There are other potential fights that could be made within the 205-pound division that would help Alexander remain a viable contender if victorious. Fights against Ovince St. Preux, Rashad Evans and Glover Teixeira are all examples of respectable fights to be made for Gustafsson at this point in time.
Alexander Gustafsson was one fight away from earning his second shot at Jon Jones and the UFC light heavyweight title. Anthony Johnson stepped in and broke up that dream, but this doesn't mean that Gustafsson is completely out of position. Last-minute injuries and winning his way back are two options for “The Mauler” that will get him back to top-contender status.
