Alexander Gustafsson's camp is very unhappy with how the UFC handled the light heavyweight title situation in the wake of injuries to Gustafsson and champion Jon Jones.
Follow the timeline here:
- Sept. 21, 2013 - Jones defeats Gustafsson in one of the closest and most entertaining fights in UFC history
- March 8, 2014 - Gustafsson disposes of Jimi Manuwa
- April 26, 2014 - Jones defeats then-No. 1 contender Glover Teixeira
- May 24, 2014 - Jones-Gustafsson II is signed, later announced for UFC 178 on Sept. 27, despite Jones' protestations
- July 23, 2014 - Gustafsson pulls out of the fight with an injury, Daniel Cormier slides into his title shot position
- Aug. 12, 2014 - Jones suffers injury, postponing title fight
Considering Cormier only got the title shot because of Gustafsson's injury, the Swede's camp feels that, now that Jones is also injured, Gustafsson should be put back into his original slot opposite Jones.
“We are not happy,” Gustafsson's manager, Andreas Michael, told Sherdog.com. “Alex is the number one contender; he got injured and [the] UFC went to Plan B. Now if that fight is not happening, of course Alex and Jones should be right back. That is the fight we want and the fans want.”
It's a tough spot for the UFC, to be sure. Cormier-Jones has been getting a ton of hype after the two brawled at a press conference and have failed to cease the public trash talking, but Gustafsson has what seems like a pretty solid claim.
It remains unclear what the next step will be for Gustafsson, who could either take a fight in the interim (the UFC's preference) or await the winner of the Jan. 3 title fight.
