Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony Smith are going to be headlining UFC Fight Night Stockholm later this year.
The fight could prove to be a career altering one for Gustafsson, who wants to see what he has left as a fighter in Stockholm.
“He’s a big hitter and he has a lot of heart and he has a lot of fights behind him,” Gustafsson said on The MMA Hour. “He’s a guy with a good team behind him, and this is going to be a real challenge. And that’s why I’m doing this, to challenge myself. When I beat him, I’m going to just move in the rankings. If I don’t beat him, if he beats me, then maybe I don’t have it anymore. So I’ll just take it from there.”
Gustafsson has always been a highly ranked fighter, but has failed in three attempts to win the UFC Light Heavyweight Title.
There are going to be a lot of advantages Gustafsson will have in Stockholm, including home country fan support.
“I’ve never lost in this arena, The Globe,” Gustafsson said. “I think it’s a really good arena, I have a good vibe in there. Having the fans behind me is a really good push. Whenever you’re training and warming up for the fights, you have your friends around you, you have friends that will compete and we push each other. So, the Swedes are going to war, basically, and I can’t wait to just be in there again and prove that I’m better than what I showed the last time.”
UFC Fight Night Stockholm takes place on Saturday, June 1 from the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden with Anthony Smith and Alexander Gustafsson headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which streams live on ESPN+.
