UFC 232 has been a long time coming for Alexander Gustafsson.
The Swede has been campaigning for a rematch with Jon Jones ever since their highly disputed championship epic at UFC 165, which saw ‘Bones’ retain his light heavyweight title in a Fight of the Night classic way back in 2013.
Many fans and analysts scored the bout for Gustafsson, however, and ‘The Mauler’ can’t wait to run things back on Dec. 29.
“It’s just so much excitement,” Gustafsson said on a recent edition of The MMA Hour, per MMA Fighting’s Shaun Al-Shatti. “It’s so much motivation. I got this fire in me and I’m just eager to get in there again. It’s been a long time for me since I fought, and like I said, I can’t ask for more. I can’t find a better way to get back in that Octagon than fighting Jon for the belt. It’s just massive, man. It’s massive.”
After dropping back-to-back losses to Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson and divisional champ, Daniel Cormier, Gustafsson has rebounded with two straight wins over Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira, re-establishing himself as a top-three light heavyweight contender.
The 31-year-old has been visualizing his rematch with Jones for over five years, and says it will feel like being crowned ‘king of the world’ when he emerges victorious at UFC 232.
“I have, and all I can say is words can’t describe that feeling,” Gustafsson said. “And I don’t even know how it will feel — I just know I will just be the king of the world. That’s it. I will be the king of the world. Nothing more, nothing less, and we’ll take it from there.”
UFC 232: Jones vs. Gustafsson II will see both men contend for the vacant light heavyweight title in the main event, which takes place next month, Dec. 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.