Alexander Gustafsson Gets a New Opponent For This Summer at UFC London Event

Swedish MMA pioneer and UFC fighter Alexander Gustafsson is rumored to have a new opponent.

“The Mauler” Gustafsson was previously booked for a meeting in May against heavyweight veteran Ben Rothwell, but after the UFC went their separate ways with Rothwell, Gustafsson was left without an opponent. Rothwell has since moved on to the bare-knuckle boxing organization BKFC.

According to sources to Frontkick, Gustafsson will now face light-heavyweight Nikita Krylov on 23 July. The bout is scheduled to take place at UFC Fight Night event in London, which will be the organization’s second visit to the UK this year.

Krylov’s last appearance was against Paul Craig at UFC London in March, but the result was not favorable for the Ukrainian fighter as he lost via submission (triangle choke) already in the first round. With the loss, “The Miner” Krylov moved down to eleventh place in the division.

Gustafsson is unranked at the moment. In his last fight, he took on the legendary Fabricio Werdum in the heavyweight division. Werdum managed to take down the Swede and end the fight via armbar in the first round. “The Mauler” is now riding a losing streak of three straight, and the last time he competed was almost two years ago.

Two canceled fights are the basis for the longer inactivity. Gustafsson was first supposed to face Craig for a fight in September last year, but was forced to withdraw due to injury. The fight against Rothwell also went up in smoke after the heavyweight was released by the UFC.

Now it will be a light heavyweight bout for the Swedish MMA legend, which is the weight class where he has had the most success throughout his career. “The Mauler” has, among other things, wins over the reigning champion Glover Teixeira and ex-champion Jan Blachowicz.
Check out the Swede’s impressive finish against Teixeira below!