Alexander Gustafsson is not a big fan of Jon Jones.
On Sunday, the Swedish fighter returned to the bright lights of the Octagon in impressive fashion by knocking out former title challenger and No. 2 contender Glover Teixeira in the main event of UFC Fight Night 109 in Stockholm, Sweden. Following his victory, Gustafsson made it clear why he considers Jones his “biggest enemy.”
“I don’t like him,” Gustafsson told reporters at the UFC Fight Night 109 post-fight press conference. “I give him that he’s the best fighter of all-time, the best pound-for-pound fighter of our division — of course, everybody knows that. He hasn’t even lost a fight yet, he demolishes everyone he fights. But as a person, as a champion, he’s not a champion, in my eyes. He’s not a good person, in my eyes.
“That’s why I always tell the guys, ‘I hope that DC [Daniel Cormier] wins, because I like the guy, he’s a worthy champion. So that’s what I mean when I say that he’s the biggest enemy of all-time.”
Gustafsson has been linked to the UFC light heavyweight title for many years with his razor-thin decision loses to Jones and Cormier. And now, after cementing himself as arguably the biggest threat to the light heavyweight belt, it’s likely that Gustafsson could get the winner of Jones vs. Cormier, who are scheduled to rematch for the title on July 29 at UFC 214.
With a possible rematch against Jones or Cormier on his mind, Gustafsson is confident that he’ll be ready for either of those bouts, as he believes he’s fixed the issues that cost him both championship fights.
“It’s all about the lost rounds,” Gustafsson said. “I’ve just been so close to winning the fights, I lose a little bit in the end, but we've changed our camp and our conditioning is on another level. Today, I’m not going to lose on the finish line again. It’s not going to happen. Today, I could go 10 rounds. I could go 10 rounds next time I fight DC or Jones.”