Move aside Machida.
It looks like you’re going to have to stay in line. Over the past few weeks Alexander Gustafsson has made it quite clear that he is interested in a fight with UFC Light Heavyweight champion, Jon Jones. “The Mauler” also said he would be willing to fight “The Dragon” Lyoto Machida in a number one contender fight.
Dana White speaks on who gets the next 205 pound title shot.
“They have both said they want to fight each other… Anything is possible. The problem is nobody’s clamoring saying, ‘Oh I got to see Machida fight him!’ And Jones finished him so easily. That’s the problem with that fight…and Machida didn’t make a statement in his last fight. I don’t know, we’ll see what happens.”
Alexander Gustafsson (15-1, 8-1 UFC) has been looking unstoppable since his first and only career defeat against Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis in 2010. His last appearance in the Octagon was against the man that knocked out Lyoto Machida and took his belt, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, where “The Mauler” rag dolled the former champion to a unanimous decision win. Now the Swedish contender feels he’s fit to challenge for the title, despite not having a fight yet this year after bowing out of his scheduled bout with Gegard Mousasi for UFC on Fuel TV 9 last month.
Can Gustafsson match Jones’ immense size and manage to pose some problems for the seemingly unbeatable superstar?
Lyoto Machida (19-3, 11-3 UFC) just had a musty and unmemorable split decision win over Dan Henderson in a fight that was promoted as a match with title implications on the line. It appears the masses weren’t convinced Lyoto is ready to take on the 205-pund division’s most elite in a rematch for the title. It’s noteworthy: The champion dismantled Lyoto Machida less than two round into their meeting at UFC 140: “Jones vs. Machida” in December of 2011.
Fans always enjoy seeing a new contender take a stab at it.
“The Dragon” wants his revenge but his uninspiring victory over “Hendo” looks to have come back to haunt him. So who can he fight next? Phil Davis is in the top 10 at 205 pounds and is the only man to beat Gustafsson, and Davis is a powerful wrestler with solid take downs, just like Jones.
We’ll have to see how this whole thing unravels. But, it sounds to me like Jones vs. Gustafsson is next at 205 pounds.
