Alexander Gustafsson may have been one of the best light heavyweights of this era, but he had the worst poker face in all of mixed martial arts.
Simply put, you knew exactly how he was feeling at any given moment, and that honesty of emotion was one of his best qualities.
I’ll never forget talking to him after a torn meniscus scrapped the first try at a rematch with Jon Jones in 2014, and the disappointment traveled clearly through the phone lines from Stockholm to New York City. His face after his defeats, especially the razor-close ones to Jones and Daniel Cormier, showed how much he cared about the sport, and even when quoted about his retirement following his loss to Anthony Smith earlier this month, he was as blunt and honest as any fighter has ever been when walking away from the sport.