UFC on FOX: Gustafsson vs. Johnson

Alexander Gustafsson (16-2) vs. Anthony Johnson (18-4)

Alexander Gustafsson gets to fight in his hometown of Stockholm, Sweden on Saturday night, as he takes on Anthony Johnson in a battle of two of the top contenders in the light heavyweight division.

The winner of this matchup should be getting the next title fight against Jon Jones, and for Gustafsson, that is something he has wanted since losing an extremely competitive fight to Jones on September 21, 2013. In that fight, he was able to hit Jones like he had never been hit before, and had the champ in big trouble until the final two rounds. However, that loss did not linger, as Gustafsson delivered a vicious knockout in his most recent fight against Jimi Manuwa on March 8, 2014. The 28-year-old from Sweden enters this bout extremely fresh, and he will need that against a fighter who is also coming off a dominating performance in Johnson. “Rumble” was out of the UFC from January of 2012 to April 26, 2014, but the 30-year-old from Georgia who fights out of Boca Raton, FL is riding an eight-fight win streak and has been dominant in his past two fights. He has defeated Phil Davis, and most recently Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, with the latter coming in just 44 seconds on July 26. UFC analyst Joe Rogan said Johnson is as scary of fighter as there is in the sport, and he has a golden opportunity in this bout. For Johnson, this is the biggest test of his career, as a championship fight would be next with a win. However, the fact that it is in Gustafsson’s home country will be too much to overcome, as GUSTAFSSON will do just enough to earn another title fight against Jones.

"The Mauler" Gustafsson has 16 victories in his career, with 10 of them coming by way of knockout. He also has three wins by both submission and decision, and eight of his finishes have come in the first round. While the 6-foot-5 Gustafsson is three inches taller than Johnson, he will not have the normal reach advantage that he is accustomed to (Gustafsson 79" reach, Johnson 78" reach). The Swedish fighter’s biggest advantage will be when it comes to landing significant strikes, as he averages almost one more per minute than Johnson (4.05 to 3.07). One of Johnson’s biggest weaknesses in the octagon has been his cardio, which has doomed him in a couple of his losses in the sport. That will be a big key in this fight, as Gustafsson showed in the fight against Jones that he could go five rounds with anybody in the sport. If this matchup occurred two years ago, it would be a no-brainer on who was going to get the win. However, Johnson has come back to the UFC a new fighter, and is more than ready to show he can be a champion.

"Rumble" Johnson has 18 career victories, with 12 of them coming by way of knockout. All but two of his UFC wins have come by knockout. Johnson also has six wins by decision, including the unanimous decision victory against Phil Davis last April. Davis is a terrific athlete who is considered to be one of the best-conditioned athletes in the sport, and for Johnson to win a fight in that style showed he had put in the time to get in much better shape. While he does not land as many strikes as Gustafsson, he is much more accurate when attempting his punches (44% for Johnson, compared to 37% for Gustafsson). Johnson is an extremely talented wrestler, who was a junior college national wrestling champion at Lassen Community College, but taking Gustafsson to the ground will be difficult, as Gustafsson defends 87% of his opponent’s takedown attempts. Johnson possesses as much power as anybody in the sport, but he will have to be ready from the beginning. The electricity and excitement in the building on Saturday night will give Gustafsson a huge advantage, so Johnson will have to overcome that.