UFC Fight Night 38: Gustafsson vs. Manuwa

Alexander Gustafsson (15-2) vs. Jimi Manuwa (14-0)

Alexander Gustafsson has a rematch with Jon Jones in the future, but will face another difficult matchup on Saturday against Jimi Manuwa in UFC Fight Night 38 in London.

Gustafsson has not fought since the title loss to Jon Jones on Sept. 21, but showed the UFC world how great of fighter he is. In that match, he lost by unanimous decision, but many of the experts in the sport feel that Gustafsson deserved to get the victory, partly because he landed significantly more strikes (134) than Jones did (110). At 6-foot-5, Gustafsson has incredible size and length that very few fighters have. He is as complete of a fighter as there is in the UFC, and will present major problems for Manuwa. Very few fighters have been as dominant in their career as the unbeaten Manuwa. While he has not faced some of the top fighters in the sport, his last victory on Oct. 26 was an impressive win against a talented fighter in Ryan Jimmo. Manuwa was able to get the victory with a second-round injury stoppage, and will be coming into this fight very confident. While the heavy underdog Manuwa has the knockout power to pull off the victory here, GUSTAFSSON is just on another level right now as a fighter, and will get the job done in dominating fashion.

Gustafsson has 15 victories in his career, with nine of them coming by way of knockout. The 27-year-old is truly a complete fighter, with three wins by both decision and submission. He also knows how to put away opponents quickly with eight first-round finishes. His biggest advantage is his length, as he stands three inches taller than his Saturday opponent. With this great reach, "The Mauler" is able to control the fight and not allow his opponents to get near him at all. Gustafsson will also have a big advantage in this match when it comes to defending against the strike (49% defended by Gustafsson, 35% by Manuwa). This is in large part because of his ability to keep his opponents at bay. While the Swede is very impressive when it comes to landing strikes (4.11 per minute), he could be at a disadvantage if this becomes a straight boxing match against the knockout artist Manuwa.

The 34-year-old Manuwa has 14 victories in his career, with 13 of those coming by way of knockout and the other one coming by submission. And like Gustafsson, Manuwa doesn't waste any time when he steps into the Octagon with 10 first-round finishes. He is an extremely physical fighter, and he is ready to knock his opponent out at any given moment. "Poster Boy" averages 4.82 significant strikes landed per minute, and is also very accurate when landing those strikes, at 64%, which is much better than Gustafsson's 37% accuracy rate. Manuwa fights out of London, so he should have the backing of the fans in attendance. This is the type of guy that goes into every single fight thinking he is going to win the match, and that confidence will be a big factor on Saturday as well. If he is able to control the fight early and get close enough to Gustafsson to land some significant blows, then he has a great chance of pulling off the major upset.