Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson has announced that he will be making a comeback to MMA this summer after announcing his retirement from the sport in the summer of 2020 — Fightful has you covered on this story and all of the other news in the world of combat sports.
Alexander Gustafsson announced MMA comeback
Following Alexander Gustafsson's loss to former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum at UFC Fight Night Whittaker vs Till in the summer last year, the Swedish former UFC light heavyweight title challenger announced his retirement from MMA.
Gustafsson has now reversed his decision to retire and he has revealed that he is currently working towards a return to the Octagon this summer.
Gustafsson made the announcement on his Instagram page.
Check out the post below.
Gustafsson did not mention anything in the post about which weight he will be returning at, but one would assume that since he is powerlifting he may be making a return to the UFC's heavyweight division where he last fought.
Gustafsson's loss to the former heavyweight champion Werdum came in Gustafsson's UFC heavyweight debut and he was submitted by him in the first round via an armbar.
If Gustafsson was to return at heavyweight, admittedly it would be a very tough task for him to work towards the UFC title due to the amount of competition there currently is at the top of the division but Gustafsson definitely has the skills to make a good run towards the title.
Do you think Gustafsson can make a good run towards the UFC heavyweight title in his return?
Yan Xiaonan hopes a win over Carla Esparza will see her rewarded with a title shot next
Yan Xiaonan is currently one of women's MMA's hottest prospects.
The China native has competed in six UFC bouts and has won all six which include wins over some of the most notable names in the strawweight division including Claudia Gadhela, Angela Hill, and Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
Xiaonan is hoping that a win over her upcoming opponent Carla Esparza will see her get rewarded with a title fight against Rose Namajunas.
In an interview with MMAJunkie, Xiaonan expressed her desire to fight Namajunas if she is victorious against the division's former champion Esparza.
Xiaonan said "yeah, I think (a title shot is next). Very huge fight for me and very important. I prepared for this fight for a very long time, and I think the winner of me and Esparza will be able to challenge for the belt. That’s my plan. I win this fight and my next step will be to challenge for the championship."
Do you think that Xiaonan would deserve the next title shot if she can beat Esparza?
Jon Jones looking huge in newly released pictures
Over the past 12 months or so since Jon Jones announced he would be moving up to heavyweight, he has provided fans with multiple pictures of his constantly changing physique as he prepares to fight in the UFC's heavyweight division.
No date has been revealed as to when Jones will make his heavyweight debut but it certainly looks like he is in the shape to do so already.
In the newly released pictures which Jones posted on Instagram, he looks absolutely huge.
Take a look at the pictures below.
Michael Chandler labels Charles Oliveira as the "scariest" opponent he has ever faced
Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler will meet this upcoming weekend in the main event of UFC 262 and the winner will be crowned the new undisputed UFC lightweight champion.
Oliveira is a UFC veteran whilst Chandler is only competing in his second fight in the UFC and he has already got a title shot.
In an interview with Combate, Chandler spoke about his preparation in the lead up to fighting Oliveira and he also labelled him as the "scariest" opponent he has ever faced in MMA.
Chandler said "I trained my jiu-jitsu because Charles is very good. Perhaps the scariest opponent I have faced in my entire career, not just for the record of submissions. It is no secret that if you leave your arm, leg or enter a triangle, you will probably fall asleep or tap. I come from wrestling, I can keep myself compact, I will not leave my neck so that he can take it."
Chandler also revealed that if Oliveira can not finish him quickly he will start to get tired and that is when the fight will start to go in Chandler's way.
Chandler said "if he doesn’t get the submission or the knockout quickly, he starts to get tired, and that’s when I can shine. I will take it to the 25 minutes, I did it several times in my career, I have fought in five rounds, so my athleticism, my speed, my strength, are things that I will be able to explore. Charles will start strong, will be very physical, good entertainment for the fans, but when we start striking in the Octagon, he will get tired and I will continue in high rotation.”
How do you think Oliveira vs Chandler will go down?
Anderson Silva explains why he thinks he is finished with MMA
In the lead-up to Anderson Silva's most recent fight against Uriah Hall, the UFC was promoting the event as Silva's last fight in the promotion.
Silva ended up getting knocked out by Hall and although Silva did not announce his official retirement post-fight, it now seems that Silva has fully retired from MMA.
When speaking to ESPN, Silva explained why he is done with MMA.
Silva said "I think MMA for me is done. It’s hard to stay training at a good level because you hurt yourself a lot. Now, I just try to enjoy. I don’t need to prove nothing for anybody. I just try to enjoy every single moment."
Although Silva is done with MMA, he is not retired from all forms of combat sports.
Silva will compete in a high-profile boxing match this summer against Julio Cesar Chavez.
Maurice Greene announces UFC release
Following his decision loss to Marcos Rogerio de Lima this past weekend at UFC Fight Night Rodriguez vs Waterson, Maurice Greene has officially been released from the UFC.
Greene ends his UFC career with a record of 4-4 in the promotion.
Greene announced his release on Instagram.
Kayla Harrison doesn't see Claressa Shields as a potential opponent in PFL
One fight which PFL fans have been fantasy booking for Claressa Shields since she was announced as a PFL fighter was a potential bout against Kayla Harrison.
With Shields being very very young into her MMA career so far it seems very unlikely that a bout against Harrison will happen any time soon and Harrison also seems to think that as well.
In an interview with MMAJunkie, Harrison spoke about whether or not she is viewing Shields as a potential future opponent.
Harrison said "No, (I don’t view her as a potential opponent), I just view myself as a mentor more than anything at this point. Like I think that’s a great business move for Claressa and PFL no matter what. But I agree, I think she’s very young in her career and I’m finally starting to get to that point where I’m not a veteran, but I got enough experience where a noobie probably shouldn’t be thrown against me unless they want to get them killed.”
Do you agree with Harrison's comments?
Diego Sanchez questions Donald Cerrone's training methods following his loss to Alex Morono
Donald Cerrone and Diego Sanchez have been involved in an indirect verbal war for the last few weeks and it is still continuing.
Cerrone and Sanchez were supposed to fight each other this past weekend at UFC Fight Night Rodriguez vs Waterson but the bout got canceled as Sanchez was released from the UFC before the bout could take place.
The reason behind Sanchez's release from the UFC was because of his trainer/manager Joshua Fabia.
After Sanchez was released, footage of Sanchez's training methods with Fabia was released and many people including high-profile MMA fighters such as Jon Jones and Michael Bisping questioned the training methods.
Sanchez has now come out and questioned Cerrone's training methods.
In a quote taken from Sanchez's Instagram story, he said "Maybe @cowboycerrone training methods should be questioned??"
Sanchez also went on to say "Racing, mountain biking, wakeboarding, snow mobiling, hunting, shooting, Jerky selling, traveling like a rockstar and chewing with Monster drink….hope Donald the bigot gets taken to the hospital to protect his head he said needed healing.”
Beneil Dariush willing to get bloody in his fight against Tony Ferguson
Whenever Tony Ferguson fights, it usually ends up in a blood bath.
That is something that his opponent at UFC 262, Beneil Dariush is not scared of.
In an interview with MMA Fighting, Dariush said that he is more than willing to get bloody if it means he beats Ferguson.
Dariush said "There’s that part of me. I’m not so worried about the blood. I’m not so much worried about the cuts. I’m genuinely excited to step in there and just look to take his head off. Whatever it takes, wins. That’s what I’m looking for. I don’t care how my face looks after. I don’t care how my body looks after. I just care that I step in there and I get this done.”
Also, during the interview, Dariush said that even if he beats Ferguson he does not expect to fight for the title next.
Dariush said "I’d like to be that guy. I’d like to be the guy that does it and I know it’s going to take something special.”
Jon Jones shoots down a potential fight with Stipe Miocic in now-deleted Tweets
When Jon Jones announced that he would be moving to heavyweight, one of the fights which MMA fans fantasy booked was Jones vs the former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.
It seems that Jones has shut down the possibility of that fight ever happening in some now-deleted Tweets.
In the Tweet which was eventually deleted, Jones posted "Don’t get excited people, I’m not fighting Stipe Miocic."
That is one fight we can now cross off on the list of potential opponents for Jones when he eventually makes his heavyweight debut.
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