Alexander Gustafsson will finally get his chance to avenge his 2013 defeat to Jon Jones on December 29th, and “The Mauler” doesn’t appear to be short on confidence, heading into the rematch.
Gustafsson will throw hands with the former light-heavyweight champ at UFC 232, which will go down in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ever since Gustafsson lost his bout with Jones, via decision, there’s been calls for the two to fight again. The main reason being that the fight was one of the greatest championship bouts in UFC history, and because Jones has never been pushed like he was at UFC 165.
Well, in advance of Jones – Gustafsson 2, the latter appeared on “The MMA Hour“. While discussing his plans for “Bones” in their rematch, Gustafsson had this to say (quotes via MMA Fighting):
“He’s a really talented fighter. He’s a very smart fighter,” Gustafsson said. “Whatever Jon does, in that Octagon he has a strategy and he’s a very smart fighter with a good eye, so you can’t relax. You can’t relax with this guy. You can’t even give him an inch. You have be on your toes the whole fight, you have to be ready the whole fight. So, that’s how I see Jon now. Jon has just been so impressive, that’s why he never lost. So, he is just that guy. He’s been beating everybody, so we all know how he is and how he’s been…”
“Just experience,” Gustafsson added, while discussing what he’s learned since he fought Jones in 2013. “Just experience doing five rounds at a very high pace. That’s what I take, and I’m feeling confident. I feel my conditioning is one of my strengths. I feel like five rounds is nothing for me. So, I’m just going to win and I’m going to push like nobody’s pushed Jon before. I’m going make him be on his heels. I’m going to push him and he’s going to be tested. His conditioning is going to be tested, for sure.”
It’s going to be really interesting to see how all this plays out, and how Gustafsson intends to “push” Jones and test his cardio. One could conclude that we will see Gustafsson pressuring more in the rematch, so, one would think his takedown defense will need to be on point. As Jones, you would think, will look to counter Gustafsson’s aggression with takedown attempts. Could this also mean that we might even see more offensive wrestling from Gustafsson? We shall see.
One thing’s for sure, Jones hasn’t received a warm-up bout for his return.