81 Facts About Alexander Gustafsson

Alexander Gustafsson was born on 15 January 1987 and is a Swedish professional mixed martial artist.

Alexander Gustafsson spent a major part of his MMA career in the Light Heavyweight division of the UFC, where he became a top contender and fought for the title three times.

Alexander Gustafsson is often regarded as one of the best mixed martial artists never to have won a UFC Championship.

Alexander Gustafsson started training MMA in 2006, and before he trained in boxing which he started when he was around 10 years old.

Alexander Gustafsson won the national championship in 2003, at the age of 16.

Alexander Gustafsson was set to compete in the national championship event the following year, 2010, for which he was a big favorite to win.

Alexander Gustafsson competed in a smaller amount of submission wrestling and submission grappling matches, in which he was undefeated.

Alexander Gustafsson won the fight knocking Kulak down several times, earning the unanimous decision victory.

Alexander Gustafsson won the fight by knockout in the first round.

Alexander Gustafsson made his UFC debut against Jared Hamman on 14 November 2009, at UFC 105.

Alexander Gustafsson dropped Hamman with a straight right punch and won the fight via KO at 0:41 in the first round.

Alexander Gustafsson's next fight was against Phil Davis on 10 April 2010, at UFC 112.

Alexander Gustafsson lost the fight via submission due to an anaconda choke.

Alexander Gustafsson faced MMA and kickboxing veteran Cyrille Diabate at UFC 120.

At the training camp, Alexander Gustafsson trained with notable UFC fighters like his former opponent Phil Davis, Dominick Cruz, Brandon Vera, Joey Beltran and Travis Browne.

Alexander Gustafsson took grappling tips from Davis and worked to improve his strength and speed.

In post-fight interviews Alexander Gustafsson said that the main reason for his success against Diabate was the time that he spent at Alliance MMA in the training camp.

Alexander Gustafsson won his second straight UFC fight on 27 February 2011, at UFC 127 where he defeated James Te-Huna in the first round by submission due to a rear-naked choke.

Alexander Gustafsson was expected to face Vladimir Matyushenko on 6 August 2011, at UFC 133.

Alexander Gustafsson eventually faced Matyushenko on 30 December 2011, at UFC 141.

Alexander Gustafsson defeated Matyushenko by TKO in the first round after dropping him with a jab and finishing with punches on the ground.

Alexander Gustafsson was expected to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira on 14 April 2012, at UFC on Fuel TV 2 in Stockholm, Sweden, but Nogueira pulled out of the fight due to an injury and was replaced by Thiago Silva.

Alexander Gustafsson was able to effectively use his reach and jab to largely outstrike Silva, scoring points by knocking him down early in the first round as well as scoring a takedown in the second.

Just like after his previous win, it was again clear that Alexander Gustafsson was in need of another step up in competition, and UFC President Dana White said that his next fight would be against someone in the top of the rankings.

Alexander Gustafsson faced Mauricio Rua on 8 December 2012, at UFC on Fox 5.

Alexander Gustafsson was able to use his reach and powerful striking, as well as his wrestling, from which he was able to land six takedowns, to defeat Rua via unanimous decision.

Alexander Gustafsson was expected to face former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi on 6 April 2013, at UFC on Fuel TV 9 and it was said that a victory would ensure him of a shot at the title.

Alexander Gustafsson was replaced by UFC newcomer Ilir Latifi, one of his main training partners.

Alexander Gustafsson earned a title shot and faced UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones on 21 September 2013 in the main event at UFC 165.

Alexander Gustafsson ended up not getting the rematch after it was confirmed that Jones would be defending his belt next against Glover Teixeira.

At a post-fight press conference in Manchester, Dana White said that Alexander Gustafsson would be facing Antonio Rogerio Nogueira on 8 March 2014, at UFC Fight Night 37.

Alexander Gustafsson stated that if both he and Jones won their next bouts, then the rematch would be set for the title.

Alexander Gustafsson won the fight by TKO after dropping Manuwa with a knee followed by a flurry of punches in the clinch, in the second round, handing Manuwa the first loss of his career.

Alexander Gustafsson's performance earned him both Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night awards.

On 27 April 2014, UFC President Dana White confirmed that a rematch with the champion Jon Jones would be next for Alexander Gustafsson, and stated the possibility of the match taking place in a stadium in Sweden on pay-per-view.

The statement, and the time and venue, wasn't official however, since Alexander Gustafsson was the only one who still had agreed to take the fight.

However, Alexander Gustafsson was forced to pull out of the bout due to a torn meniscus and was replaced by fellow top contender Daniel Cormier.

Alexander Gustafsson was briefly linked to a potential bout with Rashad Evans on 24 January 2015, at UFC on Fox 14.

Alexander Gustafsson instead faced Anthony Johnson at the event with the winner guaranteed a title shot against Jon Jones.

Alexander Gustafsson lost the fight via TKO in the first round, marking the first time in his career that he had been stopped due to strikes.

Alexander Gustafsson was expected to face Teixeira on 20 June 2015, at UFC Fight Night 69.

However, it was announced that Alexander Gustafsson had been removed from the card due to an injury in his back.

In June 2015, news then came that Alexander Gustafsson was about to be booked against Daniel Cormier who recently had won the vacant title.

In interviews after the fight, Cormier told reporters that the fight with Alexander Gustafsson had been the hardest of his career.

Alexander Gustafsson won the fight by unanimous decision.

However just days after the fight was announced, Alexander Gustafsson pulled out of the bout citing an injury.

Alexander Gustafsson was instead scheduled to face Volkan Oezdemir on 4 August 2018 at UFC 227.

On 10 October, it was announced that Alexander Gustafsson would have a rematch with the returning Jon Jones on 29 December 2018 at UFC 232 for the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.

Alexander Gustafsson lost the fight via technical knockout in round three.

Alexander Gustafsson suffered an injured groin during the fight, as a result of a knee from Jones.

Alexander Gustafsson next faced Anthony Smith on 1 June 2019, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 153.

Alexander Gustafsson lost the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the fourth round.

On 7 November 2019, UFC President Dana White confirmed that Alexander Gustafsson was showing interest in returning.

On 11 December 2019, Alexander Gustafsson competed in a grappling match in Sweden, against Swedish MMA prospect Anton Turkalj.

Alexander Gustafsson said that the outcome of this trip would determine if he was going to make a comeback or not.

On 5 June 2020, Alexander Gustafsson announced his return to active MMA competition in the UFC as part of the heavyweight division.

Alexander Gustafsson faced former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum on 26 July 2020, at UFC on ESPN 14.

Alexander Gustafsson lost the fight via an armbar submission in round one.

Alexander Gustafsson was scheduled to face Paul Craig in a light heavyweight bout on 4 September 2021, at UFC Fight Night 191.

However, a week before the event, Alexander Gustafsson withdrew due to injury.

Alexander Gustafsson faced Nikita Krylov on 23 July 2022, at UFC Fight Night 208.

Alexander Gustafsson lost the fight via knockout early in the first round.

Alexander Gustafsson was scheduled to face Ovince Saint Preux on 10 December 2022, at UFC 282.

However, Alexander Gustafsson withdrew due to undisclosed reason and was replaced by Philipe Lins.

Alexander Gustafsson has been training in his native Sweden for the most part of his career, mainly at Allstar Training Center in Stockholm, which is run by Alexander Gustafsson himself and his head coach Andreas Michael, who is a former boxing coach and former amateur boxing coach for the Swedish Olympic team.

Since then, Alexander Gustafsson has been training mainly in Sweden at Allstar Training Center, but the team has kept their close relationship with Alliance MMA in San Diego, having the two teams working together.

Alexander Gustafsson uses good technique and fast movements with great footwork, to set up his combinations.

Alexander Gustafsson uses his reach and mobility to circle and stay on the outside of his opponents range to find his own openings.

In 2015, Alexander Gustafsson began a relationship with his present girlfriend, Moa.

Later in May 2017, the couple became engaged inside the octagon right after Alexander Gustafsson defeated Teixeira in his hometown of Stockholm, Sweden.

Alexander Gustafsson grew up in Arboga, a small town about.

Alexander Gustafsson had a close relationship with his biological father, who lived in another city and was struggling with alcohol abuse.

Alexander Gustafsson is a Christian, and he had a close personal relationship with his pastor, Wiggo Carlsson, until his death in 2012.

Alexander Gustafsson is a long time friend, and former occasional training and sparring partner, of two-division boxing world champion Badou Jack.

Alexander Gustafsson has often, both before and after his title fight at UFC 165, been compared to Swedish Heavyweight boxer Ingemar Johansson who won the world title in 1959, focusing both on similarities and differences in their respective fighting styles.

Alexander Gustafsson had a troubled youth which led to him ending up in fights often as a teenager, for which he was first convicted when he was 15.

Alexander Gustafsson was released in 2006, turned his life around, got back into training, found MMA and moved to another city to leave the trouble behind him.

Alexander Gustafsson has said that it was getting involved in MMA that finally changed his life for the better.

Alexander Gustafsson was a construction worker and worked security as a bouncer in night clubs.

Alexander Gustafsson had a license to work as a divemaster for scuba diving.

In 2021, the Allstar Training Center, of which Alexander Gustafsson is a co-owner, is expanding and opening a second training location, this time in Torrevieja, Spain.