Alexander Gustafsson is in one of the worst positions a fighter can be in. He is the ‘other guy’. Often discredited as being the worst of what pundits consider to be the four kings of the light heavyweight division, Gustafsson is deceptively brilliant. While appearing a wasteland now, only as far back as five years ago the light heavyweight division was one of the UFCs best. Sat atop the it were the kings, four great and almighty fighters who were seemingly unstoppable: Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier, Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson and finally Alexander Gustafsson, who unfortunately lost on paper to all three of the other men.
War between the Four
On paper being the key term here, as the only fighter to indisputably best Gustafsson was Rumble (and even then, not without an accidental and thunderous headbutt). While many pundits felt that Gustafsson was simply caught and would have defeated Rumble in a rematch, it never came to pass. Rumble Johnson retired not long after his second defeat to Daniel Cormier.
The Mauler’s loss to Cormier was the second time he would fight for the title, arguably win it, only to lose the decision. While it was one of the greatest fights of his career, after two razor thin decision losses it was starting to look like Gustafsson just didn’t quite have it. He could beat everyone, but when it came to the elite he just couldn’t quite put them away. This combined with his sporadic appearances in the cage made it seem like there wasn’t much left for him and that he didn’t really belong in title contention.
This was a comical claim, as it implied he didn’t fight those razor thin decisions against two all-time greats of the sport. Jon Jones considered by many at one time to be the pound for pound king, and Daniel Cormier the first ever two division UFC champion to actually succeed in defending titles in both divisions (one of which he earned against Stipe Miocic, the most accomplished UFC heavyweight of all time), cementing his legacy as a fighter even greater than Jones.
The UFC’s Greatest Fight
Yet now it seems the dust has settled. Rumble Johnson has moved on and Daniel Cormier vacated the UFC Light heavyweight title to re-join the heavyweight division. Alexander Gustafsson is now in a fight for the vacant title against his old rival Jon Jones, the two remaining members of light heavyweights ‘big four’.
Their first battle was a controversial affair from beginning to end. When Gustafsson was first granted the title shot, he was met with scepticism from those not believing he had earned it. At the time the Mauler looked… awkward at light heavyweight. Seemingly being a 6’5 behemoth janking his way through fights in close quarters against significantly shorter men. Despite being on a 6 fight win streak with four stoppages, Gustafsson simply didn’t appear to be anything more than a solid fighter. Nobody expected he could take on the greatest light heavyweight of all time. Yet there he was, ready to fight, claiming he would be using his reach on Jones, a peculiar statement considering Jones’ was a fighter in the Stretch Armstrong mould. Yet in a strange way he did it.
The bell rang and Gustafsson was already doing his work, he was jabbing, setting up his left hook and succeeded in opening a cut on Jones. Yet the magic moment came as Alexander Gustafsson, former amateur boxer succeeded in being the first man to take down wrestler Jon Jones. All the while succeeding in defending all of Jones’ take downs. He didn’t pursue the fight on the ground, they were back on their feet with in seconds. It was to send a message, to Jon Jones and everyone around him, he was for real.
Throughout the fight Gustafsson made one other thing very clear, Jon Jones was not a good boxer and Gustafsson was going to highlight that. Jabbing, hooking and working the body, Jones looked bamboozled throughout much of the fight. While Jones had a successful round earlier in the fight it was round 4 that would become the most famous and most controversial moment in Gustafsson’s career.
For a full four minutes, Gustafsson was outworking the champion. Jon Jones landed jabs and kicks here and there but was battered and bleeding. Gustafsson shook off the champ’s take down attempts and looked one round away from being crowned the new king. The first man to defeat Jon Jones. Then from nowhere, Jon Jones pulled off a hail Mary spinning elbow. While it didn’t land cleanly, being more a spinning tricep attack, it certainly wobbled Gustafsson. For the remaining minute of the round Gustafsson was on the defensive. While he was defending successfully, and Jones couldn’t do much damage, when the bell rang for the fifth and final round Gustafsson was hurt and tired. Jon Jones clearly won the final round and a few short minutes later it was announced he was still the light heavyweight champion.
Internet forums were alive with cries of the robbery. Surely Gustafsson had won. Some hardcore fans were quick to remind others that fights are scored by the rounds and Gustafsson had not clearly won three. Yet when the score cards were officially released, they were just… bizarre.
Judge Doug Crosby
Rd. 1: Gustafsson 10-9
Rd. 2: Gustafsson 10-9
Rd. 3: Jones 10-9
Rd. 4: Jones 10-9
Rd. 5: Jones 10-9
Judge Richard Bertrand
Rd. 1: Gustafsson 10-9
Rd. 2: Jones 10-9
Rd. 3: Gustafsson 10-9
Rd. 4: Jones 10-9
Rd. 5: Jones 10-9
Judge Chris Lee
Rd. 1: Gustafsson 10-9
Rd. 2: Jones 10-9
Rd. 3: Jones 10-9
Rd. 4: Jones 10-9
Rd. 5: Jones 10-9
There were only two consistent agreements. Gustafsson won the first round, and Jones won the last two. The middle rounds were anyone’s game. Looking back on those scorecards and watching the fight again 5 years later, now one must wonder. Did they make a mistake? Jon Jones pulled off what seemed like a spectacular comeback at the time in the fourth, yet re-watching and re-assessing, Jones didn’t really do anything other than that spinning elbow. While it certainly enabled him to win the fifth round, Gustafsson outworked him for four of the five minutes and it seemed as though Jones had no answer for him. Round by round scoring isn’t necessarily the most effective way to score a fight, and it’s strange that one single technique could definitively win an otherwise one-sided round on all three judges’ scorecards.
This fight will likely always be controversial. On first watching I was firmly in the camp that Jones decisively won three rounds. Yet five years on with more knowledge, I’m starting to think maybe Alexander Gustafsson should have got the nod after all.
Their first brawl went down in history as probably the greatest UFC fight of all time and remains Alexander Gustafsson’s crowning achievement. As we await their long-desired rematch on December 30th, Gustafsson now sits in an awkward position, the underappreciated #2 light heavyweight, he needs this win to validate his place in MMA history.
In a lot of ways his legacy is reminiscent of Vitor Belfort, a fighter known for losing to the top competition. Unlike Vitor however, Gustafsson’s no man’s land is perhaps even more frustrating. A man stuck in a division with two of the greatest of all time, not just in the division, but in the sport of MMA. Despite being ‘the other guy’, there is certainly something to say about a man who could fight two of the all-time greats, and arguably beat both.
