Alexander Gustafsson is willing to move up to the heavyweight division to take on Daniel Cormier.
Cormier recently won the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight title when he knocked out Stipe Miocic. The stage was then set for a showdown with Brock Lesnar after “The Beast Incarnate” shoved Cormier at the conclusion of UFC 226. Cormier says he’d like to defend his light heavyweight title before he fights Lesnar, but a rematch with Gustafsson doesn’t appeal to him.
Speaking to MMANYTT, Gustafsson blasted the Lesnar bout and said he’ll chase Cormier at heavyweight if he has to (via MMAFighting.com):
“It’s frustrating because he has something I want. He doesn’t come back down and face me and he’s keeping the belt. But at the same time, the hunt isn’t over. … I might continue chasing [DC]. If I need to move up to heavyweight to face him, I will. It’s not fun and pretty ridiculous in my opinion. I don’t see the logic in this fight. It’s only a money fight [because] Brock has a big following from wrestling. I understand DC though. He wants to make money. It’s a better fight for his wallet, fighting Brock instead of going down to fight me. It’s a way bigger risk to fight me.”
Gustafsson is scheduled to compete at UFC 227 on Aug. 4. He was set to meet Volkan Oezdemir, but “No Time” suffered a broken nose and was forced to pull out of the bout. The search for a replacement opponent is underway. It’ll be interesting to see if the UFC can pull off a last-minute opponent for Gustafsson. Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero have been ruled out due to their recoveries. Ovince Saint Preux is also off the table.
Do you think Alexander Gustafsson will make the move to heavyweight in the future?
