Alexander Gustafsson is a Swedish mixed martial artist. He is one of the strongest light heavyweight fighters in the UFC. On his account there are already many bright and beautiful victories, but he has not yet managed to win the champion title in this category.
Early years and first fight in the UFC
Alexander Gustafsson was born in the small Swedish town of Arbug on January 15, 1987. Here, at the age of ten, he began boxing.
In 2005, young Alexander had problems with the law - he was sent to prison for 15 months for beating a man. In 2006, immediately after his release, Gustafsson became interested in mixed martial arts. At first he performed in promotions in Europe, and in 2009 he signed a contract with the UFC - the most famous MMA organization in the world at the moment.
Gustafsson made his UFC debut on November 14, 2009. His first opponent here was Jared Hamman. And already in the first round at 41 seconds, a powerful Swede knocked out Hamman with a right kick - so this fight was won.
Further career in mixed martial arts
Gustafsson's second opponent was a very experienced fighter - Phil Davis. Phil and Alexander met in the Octagon on April 10, 2010 as part of the UFC 112 show. And this meeting ended in the defeat of the Swedish MMA fighter. Phil Davis gave an insidious choke hold, and Gustafsson had to give up.
Then the Swedish fighter won as many as six fights in a row (in particular, he defeated Brazilian Tiago Silva, Belarusian Vladimir Timoshenko and New Zealander James Te-Hunu). This allowed him to enter the octagon against John Jones and compete with him for the championship title. This fight took place in Toronto on September 21, 2013. The fight lasted all five rounds, after which the judges unanimously decided that Jones was still stronger.
On October 3, 2015, Gustafsson again got a real opportunity to compete for the title of UFC light heavyweight champion - this time against American Daniel Cormier. Gustafsson was very close to victory in that fight, he managed to carry out some really good attacks. Anyway, at the end of the fifth round, the judges had to determine the winner again. And their opinions were divided. One judge considered that the Swede won, and the other two that Cormier. Naturally, in the end the title remained with the American.
Then Gustafsson won two more fights in the octagon - against Jan Blokhovich and Glover Teixeira. And on December 30, 2018, he had another chance to become the UFC champion. Alas, Gustafsson did not use this chance either. Gustafsson's rival in the fight for the championship belt, as in 2013, was John Jones. In the third round, he knocked out the Swede, thus closing the question of who is the best fighter among light heavyweights today.
In total, at the moment, Gustafsson's statistics are as follows: he spent 23 fights, and won 18 of them. But you need to keep in mind that his career is still ongoing. The next fight of Gustafsson will take place, according to available information, on June 1, 2019. The opponent of the Swede will be a fighter named Anthony Smith.
Personal life
In 2015, Alexander began a romantic relationship with a girl named Moa Johansson. She often attended the fights of her boyfriend and was actively rooting for him. In May 2017, news appeared that Alexander became a father - Moa gave birth to his daughter, who was named Ava.
On May 28, 2017, after the birth of Ava, Gustafsson fought in the octagon against the Brazilian Glover Teixeira. The Swedish athlete acted noticeably faster and more aggressively than his opponent. And at the beginning of the fifth round, Teixeira, having missed a whole series of uppercuts from Gustafsson, fell to the floor, and the referee stopped the fight. When Gustafsson was declared the winner of this fight, he invited Moa to the octagon and, kneeling down, in front of many spectators, proposed to her. Moa, although she did not expect such a turn of events, answered in agreement.
But at the moment, the fighter and his chosen one are only engaged, officially they never became husband and wife. This, however, did not prevent Moa from giving birth to a second child from Alexander in September 2018 - a boy.
