Forget about seeing a rematch of Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson’s UFC 192 title fight classic.
Alexander ‘The Mauler’ Gustafsson had some bad news on Sunday: he was out of UFC 227, due to a minor injury. Then, things got worse. UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier released a statement telling Gustafsson that he had no plans on ever fighting the Swedish contender again. “You and I won’t share the octagon again,” Cormier wrote on Instagram.
In his statement, he also takes ‘the Mauler’ to task for a number of perceived slights, including calling out Luke Rockhold shortly after Rockhold was finished by Yoel Romero, and challenging Cormier himself while the champ was injured.
Dear Alex, I don’t know what happened to you going back to the Rockhold situation. You have always been a stand up guy but your behavior changed. From calling a guy out the day after he got knocked out, to now offering to fight me knowing I have a broken hand, after Volkan couldn’t go. Now you’ve turned down Jan, turned down Khalil all while calling for a heavyweight title fight. Now, moments after Anthony Smith does his work like an animal you decide you’re hurt. Man, I respect you as a fighter. I will always be grateful for October 2015, but you and I won’t share the octagon again. I am disappointed in who you’ve become. You are so entitled, man, I can’t deal with delusional people. Good luck recovering. Our time has passed. See you from the commentary table. DC
Gustafsson and Cormier first fought at UFC 192. At the time, the fight garnered some controversy, as the Swede was gifted the title shot while coming off a loss to Anthony Johnson. However, as with The Mauler’s fight against Jon Jones at UFC 165 in Toronto, the UFC 192 main event was a hard fought, close fight that many saw Gustafsson as having won. The official decision was split, and many expected a rematch.
However, health issues plagued Gustaffson in the years that followed, and though he’s won both his fights since that 2015 meeting, the fact remains that he has only fought twice. Given D.C.’s statement, it’s now unlikely that Gustafsson will ever fight the champ again. Meaning rematches against both Jones and D.C. have eluded him.
It’s also becoming more and more unlikely that Cormier will ever defend the 205lb title again. Though he has spoken of fighting twice before retiring next March, Cormier is currently nursing a broken hand. He had floated the idea of fighting Shogun Rua, but Rua was finished Sunday at UFC Hamburg by Anthony Smith. With Corey Anderson finishing Glover Teixeira, there’s a lack of big draws coming off wins in the division. Factoring in the expected Brock Lesnar fight in 2019, it seems Cormier may just fight the wrestler before retiring.
