The UFC has scheduled an event for Stockholm, Sweden on Jan. 24, and the main event will be a light heavyweight contender bout between Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson. The match comes with a lot of questions for both men, as both are very highly rated. However, the best that can be said for the winner is that it ‘might’ lead to a title shot.
It all hinges on Jon Jones‘ title defense against Daniel Cormier scheduled for the UFC 182 card on Jan. 3. Jones is considered a dominant champion with a long list of title defenses to his credit. Many are already putting him in the discussions for the “Greatest of All Time.”
With that said, should Jones lose to Cormier, it is hard to see a scenario other than an injury or a total wipe out where Jones will not get an immediate rematch. If that turns out to be the case, the winner of Gustafsson-Johnson will either be waiting until 2016, or they will need to take another fight at mid-year 2015 while Jones-Cormier Part II sorts itself out.
This past September, Gustafsson took on Jones for the title. Gustafsson resisted for a bit in the press, insisting he would wait for a title shot rather than fight. This is the difficult situation for Gustafsson that almost makes it a no win for him. A loss to Johnson and he could very well wind up never fighting for the UFC light heavyweight title again. But, sitting for a year or longer in the prime of a short fighting career is not smart either. This is an absolute must win for Gustafsson.
For Johnson, he is coming off a suspension for legal issues, but he has been reinstated quietly by the UFC. Johnson has been on an impressive run lately, but he also needs a win over Gustafsson to firmly establish himself as the No. 1 contender.
A win over Phil Davis helped him, but Davis has wins over aging Rogerio Nogueira, Andrei Arlovski and Mike Kyle on this run. So ranging from fighters who are burnt out to a guy who never lived up to his potential, Gustafsson would easily be the most important win of Johnson’s career.
Check out the UFC’s ‘Countdown to UFC 165: Jones vs Gustafsson’ video featuring Alexander Gustafsson:
