Alexander Gustafsson reflects on MMA retirement
“It was an emotional moment. Nothing else. I was just heartbroken.”
Alexander Gustafsson lost to Anthony Smith at UFC on ESPN+ 11 on June 1, 2019 in front of a hometown crowd in Stockholm, Sweden. It was his second loss in a row, and in the first loss of two, he failed in a title fight for the third time. It was all too much, so he MMA retired.
He eventually thought the better of it, and fights former UFC heavyweight champion Fabrício Werdum on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 14. At the pre-fight media scrum, “The Mauler” reflected on his decision to retirement, and his move up to heavyweight.
It was an emotional moment. Nothing else, said Gustafsson. I was just heartbroken. It was a tough fight. It was in Stockholm. It was against a guy I know I’ve got the tools to beat but I didn’t obviously. It was a tough night and my emotions and thoughts were just chaos in my head.
“After a month or two at home about that. I then want to go back to training and I can’t train without motivation so now I’m here.
I felt it was the right time for me to move up one weight Cause I’m pretty heavy, pretty big. I felt really good to step up one weight and try out the heavyweight division.
Then I got the fight with Werdum and this is something that fits me very well and I’m very excited about. I’m just stronger. I’m stronger than I usually was in light heavyweight.
I’ll challenge myself and see how it goes. I will win of course but let’s see how I feel about it. He’s a legend of the sport. He’s a former champion. It’s a perfect way to come back. I’ll beat Werdum on Saturday and then we’ll take the next one.
I’m here to win my fights. Just take it from there. Where I’m in a situation where I can touch the belt, then we’ll go for the belt.
Right now, it’s just one fight at a time. I’m fighting Werdum, I’ll beat Werdum on Saturday then we’ll take the next one. I’m here to stay.
Gustafsson wouldn’t commit one way or another about staying in the heavyweight division.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WHh1kyEGNY&feature=emb_title
h/t Damon Martin for MMA Fighting