UFC Fight Night 109's Alexander Gustafsson out to 'prove I'm the best,' still wants Jon Jones rematch

Alexander Gustafsson is still considered one of the best light heavyweights in the world. However, there’s no doubt that having just two fights in the past two years has slowed his career.

Gustafsson (17-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) will soon have the opportunity to kick things back into high gear, though, when he meets Glover Teixeira (26-5 MMA, 9-3 UFC) in the UFC Fight Night 109 main event scheduled for May 28 at Ericsson Globe in his hometown of Stockholm. The event streams on UFC Fight Pass.

Over the past few years “The Mauler” has fought nothing but the best competition. He’s lost to the very elite in Anthony Johnson (22-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC), former UFC champ Jon Jones (22-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) and current champ Daniel Cormier (18-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC), the latter two of which were title fights). But Gustafsson’s resolve as a top fighter has never gone away.

Teixeira stands right by his side when it comes to the highest echelon at 205 pounds, and Gustafsson said beating the Brazilian will be his stepping stone toward re-positioning himself as a viable title contender.

“I had a tough couple of fights, it didn’t go my way, so I’m just here to prove I’m the best guy out there,” Gustafsson told reporters at this past weekend’s UFC Fight Night 107 event in London. “I want those fights (I lost) back; I want those wins back. I’m just starting.”

There was a time when Gustafsson, No. 7 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA light heavyweight rankings, looked borderline unstoppable inside the octagon. He won six consecutive fights to earn a title shot against then-champ Jones at UFC 165 in September 2013. He fell just short on the scorecards in the “Fight of the Year,” and since then the 30-year-old has struggled with consistency.

Gustafsson rebounded from the grueling encounter with Jones to score a second-round TKO of Jimi Manuwa, but shortly thereafter would hit the first extended rough patch of his more than nine-year career.

Johnson picked up a violent first-round stoppage of Gustafsson at UFC on FOX 14 in January 2015. Despite that, the thin nature of the light heavyweight division sent Gustafsson into a title fight in his next outing, where he fell just short of the belt again with a split-decision loss to Cormier at UFC 192 in October 2015.

Gustafsson took 11 months off following the blood-soaked affair with Cormier and came back to snap his first two-fight skid with a unanimous decision victory over Jan Blachowicz at UFC Fight Night 93 last September. Now looking to win two straight for the first time in more than four years, Gustafsson said he’s recharged and ready to prove his worth once more.

“It’s been frustrating,” Gustafsson said. “I want to be competing all the time if I could. I have a good fight in front of me (against Teixeira), and I can’t wait to step in there and win. I’m feeling exactly how I should feel. I train hard, feel good. I love training, I train every day. It’s no question about not training or not competing. This is what I do, this is what I love to do, so I’m going to keep doing it for a long time.”

With No. 2-ranked Cormier and No. 3-ranked Johnson set to clash for the title in the main event of UFC 210 on April 8, the light heavyweight division is going to be the center of attention in the UFC in the coming weeks. The winner of that fight will likely take on No. 1-ranked Jones when “Bones” returns from suspension in late June.

Whoever emerges victorious between Gustafsson and Teixeira would seemingly be right behind in the queue, which signifies the importance of the UFC Fight Night 109 headliner.

“In this sport you have to win; you can’t lose,” Gustafsson said. “If you lose, you’re back where you started, so you have to win every fight. It doesn’t matter if the guy is ranked or not. You have to win every fight, so that’s why it’s the most important fight right now of my career.”

Gustafsson’s short-term goal is simply to deliver a triumphant performance against Teixeira. If he can accomplish that, he said it would be difficult not to look toward the belt, but there are other things he wants in the sport, as well.

He’s agonized over the result of his fight with Jones since it happened more than three years ago. However, the chance at redemption has never materialized. He still wants it, though, and said beating Teixeira will at least make his desire of a Jones rematch a realistic possibility once again.

“I’m always interested to fight Jon Jones, of course,” Gustafsson said. “Let’s make the number two.”

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