A defeated Gustafsson would retire a short time later, but it would appear that he is now reconsidering that decision.
“I fought my last fight against Anthony Smith, and it didn’t go as planned,” Gustafsson told Ashah Tafari of MMA NYTT. “I felt an incredible frustration. I’m a really sore loser, and I left my gloves in the cage and felt that’s enough now. But with that said, I still have this tingle in my hands. This is very new. It’s been a month, and I’m far from a retired fighter in my way of thinking and such. I’ve made my decision and so on, but it takes times to adapt and accept the new things in life and your role in all of it.”
Gustafsson is still ranked #6 in the UFC Light Heavyweight Division, meaning a potential fourth shot at UFC gold is still in reach.
While Gustafsson has only been retired for less than two months, it hasn’t stopped him from missing the sport of professional MMA.
“MMA has been a large part of my life for a very long time. June first in the Globe Arena was very tough for me and I’m an emotional person, it felt awful after the loss and it felt like ‘game over’ in that moment. I had hoped for a different outcome, but it turned out like it did and somehow I have to move on from that. But of course for every day that passes I miss it more and more,” says Gustafsson.
The retired Gustafsson is in the midst of a two fight losing streak and he hasn’t picked up a victory in over two years.
