When Daniel Cormier stopped Volkan Oezdemir with a second-round TKO this past January, many assumed that Alexander Gustafsson’s third crack at UFC gold would be next.
Gustafsson has long been a top UFC light heavyweight contender and memorably fell just inches short in title losses to both Cormier and Jon Jones. But despite being the No. 1 contender on the UFC’s official media-generated light heavyweight rankings, Gustafsson’s elusive third title shot didn’t come. Instead, Cormier was granted a rare opportunity to compete in a champion vs. champion superfight against heavyweight titleholder Stipe Miocic July 7 at UFC 226, abandoning the queue at 205 pounds completely, and Gustafsson admitted Monday on The MMA Hour to being “shocked” by how the situation played out.