Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson had a rather interesting time on UFC Tonight.
It’s no secret that beef has been brewing between UFC light heavyweight champion Cormier and Gustafsson. Back in Oct. 2015, Cormier defended his gold against Gustafsson. The champion retained his title via split decision in the main event of UFC 192.
Since that fight, Cormier and Gustafsson have traded barbs. Gustafsson claims Cormier took an easier fight by challenging Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight title. Cormier responded by blasting “The Mauler” for his lack of activity.
Gustafsson took things a step further by calling out Luke Rockhold. Cormier and Rockhold are former training partners and are still friends. Gustafsson said he wouldn’t mind using Rockhold as a warm-up.
With tension building between the two, the UFC had Cormier and Gustafsson in the same room for a sitdown interview with Kenny Florian between both men. Cormier took a jab at Gustafsson for being inactive. Gustafsson fired back by saying “DC” took his chance to fight away by not defending his title.
You can see the full interview below:
In his last outing, Gustafsson emerged victorious against Glover Teixeira. He earned a fifth-round knockout victory. That fight took place back in May 2017. Gustafsson was dominant in victory and many expected him to be next in line for a rematch with Jon Jones or Cormier.
Cormier successfully defended his light heavyweight gold against Volkan Oezdemir back in January. “DC” took the fight via second-round TKO. It’s Cormier’s third successful title defense. While Gustafsson lobbied for a rematch, Cormier was offered “The Ultimate Fighter” coaching spot and a huge main event with Miocic.
On July 7, Cormier will challenge Miocic for the heavyweight gold. The title clash is set to headline UFC 226 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Meanwhile, Gustafsson doesn’t have a fight booked yet.
Is the rematch between Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson bound to happen?
