Alexander Gustafsson: Beating Jon Jones in rematch 'would be as big' as being UFC champ

More than three years later, the idea of a rematch with former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is one of the driving forces in Alexander Gustafsson’s career.

Gustafsson (17-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) and Jones (22-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) waged war for five memorable rounds in the “Fight of the Year” at UFC 165 in September 2013. Some thought Gustafsson deserved the nod, which would have made him the first to legitimately beat “Bones,” but instead he fell short on the scorecards by unanimous decision.

A rematch has nearly materialized on multiple occasions, but ultimately the timing has never worked out. That could change soon, though, especially if Gustafsson defeats fellow former title challenger Glover Teixeira (26-5 MMA, 9-3 UFC) in May’s UFC Fight Night 109 headliner.

Jones is expected to return to the octagon in the summer once he completes his one-year suspension for a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) violation, and while fighting the winner of next month’s UFC 210 title fight between champ Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson seems the most likely matchmaking direction for his return, Gustafsson knows a victory would put him in the conversation.

And if he somehow lands in a position where he had the option of fighting for the belt or getting his long-awaited rematch with Jones, he said the latter would be extremely tempting.

“Jones is one of those fights I think everybody wants,” Gustafsson told reporters at today’s UFC Fight Night 109 news conference. “It’s a hard choice because you have the belt, and you have Jones. Jones is a true champ in my eyes (because he never lost the belt in the octagon). There’s no one like him, and to beat him would be as big as being the world champ.”

UFC Fight Night 109 takes place May 28 at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden. The card streams on UFC Fight Pass.

Over the past seven years Gustafsson, No. 7 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA light heavyweight rankings, has only lost to No. 1-ranked Jones, No. 2-ranked Cormier and No. 3-ranked Johnson. The defeat to “Rumble” was the only truly decisive result, and Gustafsson admits it was simply not his night when he suffered the first-round knockout loss.

Jones is the fight that eats away at Gustafsson most, though, because aside from a highly questionable and controversial disqualification loss to Matt Hamill, no one has ever come as close to putting a blemish on Jones’ record as Gustafsson did at UFC 165.

Gustafsson is confident he will cross paths with Jones again before his career is over, but a victory over Teixeira at UFC Fight Night 109 would significantly boost the likelihood. That’s why his sole focus is on the upcoming fight, he said.

“I will be the winner of this fight, I can tell you that,” Gustafsson said. “We’ll see what happens. My focus is on Glover right now. That’s a tough challenge for me. I’m going to score that, and we’ll see what happens for me. We’ll move forward.”

Teixeira has other plans, though. He wants to upset Gustafsson in his home town, then go on to a championship fight of his own, regardless of who holds the belt. If he does that, he said Gustafsson can keep occupied with his rematch against Jones.

“Jones is coming back, so who knows (about a title shot),” Teixeira said. “But after I beat Gustafsson I can fight for the title, and Gustafsson can have his rematch with Jones.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 109, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.