Alexander Gustafsson Claims He’s ‘Here to Stay,’ Holds Off on Commitment to Heavyweight

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Like so many retirements in MMA, Alexander Gustafsson’s was short-lived.

“The Mauler” laid his gloves in the Octagon following a fourth-round submission loss to Anthony Smith in the UFC Fight Night 153 headliner on June 1, 2019. Considering that he was just 32 years old at the time, there was plenty of skepticism regarding the announcement. Gustafsson, however, seemed to be sincere in his intentions.

“It feels like I don’t have it in me anymore, to be honest,” he said on the ESPN+ post-fight show that day. “I just have that feeling it’s time now. I don’t want to be a journeyman. I don’t want to do this because I’m getting paid. I want to do this because I love it. I want to be at the top.”

In the ensuing months, Gustafsson hinted that his retirement was not permanent. Ultimately, he missed the training lifestyle, and to continue to train, he needed extra incentive.

“I missed the competition. I need my training,” Gustafsson said during a virtual media day. “For me to train good, I need a goal. It came naturally for me to come back.”

A three-time light heavyweight title challenger, Gustafsson will make his heavyweight debut at UFC on ESPN 14 when he squares off against Fabricio Werdum on Saturday at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi.

“It was the right time for me to move up one weight class because I’m pretty heavy,” Gustafsson said. “It felt really good to step up one weight class and try out the heavyweight division. Then I got the fight with Werdum, and it was just something that fit me very well and I felt very excited about.”

Gustafsson says he will weigh somewhere between 235 and 238 pounds come fight night. The Swede also claims that he’s stronger at heavyweight than he was at 205 pounds, but he isn’t ready to fully commit to making the big man’s division his permanent home.

“I’ll challenge myself and let’s see how it goes,” he said. “I will win of course, but let’s see how I feel about it.”

A perennial contender at 205 pounds, Gustafsson is taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to his place in the heavyweight championship picture. For now, a move up just felt right.

“I’m here to win my fights. And we’ll just take it from there. When I end up in a situation where I can touch the belt, then we’ll go for the belt,” he said.

“It’s all about feeling good and have a good training camp. It’s the best way for me to come back. I”m a pretty big guy. Heavyweight for me comes very natural.”

Regardless of whether his future is at light heavyweight or heavyweight, Gustafsson affirmed that he isn’t planning on hanging up his four-ounce gloves again anytime soon.

“Yes, I’m here to stay,” he said.