After both Jeremiah Wells and Trevin Giles were forced to withdraw from fights with him last weekend, Sweden’s Andreas Gustafsson finally made his promotional debut at UFC 316, taking on Khaos Williams in a welterweight bout.
Gustafsson himself was now replacing Uros Medic (and then Albert Tadevosyan) in the bout, which basically boiled down to a game of musical chairs, or opponents.
Gustafsson wasted no time at the start of round one, charging forward and pressing Williams from the opening bell. However, Williams quickly reversed position and pinned Gustafsson against the cage, controlling the early clinch exchanges. Gustafsson kept a tight body lock to stay close, but with minimal action, the referee separated them. As soon as they reset, Gustafsson came forward again, throwing wild, looping hooks. It was messy but relentless, and he consistently forced Williams back into the fence. The round featured heavy clinch work, where Gustafsson was the busier fighter, landing knees to the body and grinding on Williams, though possibly burning a lot of energy in the process.
In round two, Gustafsson continued to push forward, undeterred by return fire and eager to close the distance. Williams couldn’t land anything meaningful before he was once again pushed to the cage. Anytime space opened up, Gustafsson quickly closed it, intent on turning the fight into a phone booth brawl. He began finding success with his left hand and wore on Williams with constant pressure. Midway through the round, Gustafsson mixed in takedowns, scoring three in the back half as his physicality and aggression overwhelmed Williams.
Entering the third, Williams needed a finish, but Gustafsson stuck to the game plan, immediately pressing him to the fence. Even when Williams managed to reverse the position, Gustafsson still landed the cleaner shots, including knees to the body and short elbows in close. His dirty boxing began to break Williams down, and as the round progressed, it was clear who was in control. Williams’ offense dried up while Gustafsson’s stayed steady. From bell to bell, Gustafsson dominated with pressure, clinch work, brief takedowns, and cage control.
A dominant UFC debut for Gustafsson: relentless, gritty, and physically imposing.
Official Result: Andreas Gustafsson def. Khaos Williams via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
