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PREVIEW | Alexander Gustafsson set to make his 4th UK appearance
UK fight fans have been the beneficiaries of witnessing some top level international talent compete in their cities over the years. And that will be no different come July 23rd, and there are two men in particular who are making their 4th and 2nd UK appearances respectively.
Allstars product, Alexander Gustafsson will move back down to the 205lb division after trying his success at Heavyweight, to take on the 11th ranked, Nikita Krylov, in what might be the Swedes final title push of his triumphant career. When things are said and done and “The Mauler” hangs up the UFC gloves, he might go down as the best fighter to never win UFC gold, if that’s how his story ends.
But a win on July 23rd will catapult him back into contention, and possibly give him that last push of motivation to make a final charge for gold. It’s no easy feat though getting past the big hitting Ukrainian.
“The Miner” Krylov boasts 26 wins coming by way of stoppage with only one having to go to the judges scorecard. A possibly frightening contemplation for “The Mauler” who has been finished in his last three. A win is essential for both Europeans who will look to get back into the win column to forge a run to the Light Heavyweight title.
Gustafsson’s British Story So Far
Gustafsson first touched down on UK ground in 2009, and announced himself to the Brits in a ferocious way. The 22-year-old at the time made his UK debut at UFC 105, taking on Jared Hamman. The extremely aggressive Hamman came out looking to dispatch of the young fighter early on. Things didn’t go the American’s way though, and just 41 seconds in was knocked out cold by a Gustafsson straight right hand.
Just a year later, Alexander Gustafsson was back in town, this time against the vastly experienced, Cyrille Diabate. During their fight, Gustafsson did extremely well to get the fight to the mat, and early on in round 2, scored a big take-down transitioning straight to side control. Not long after, he found himself on “The Snake’s” back, flattening him out in a rear-naked choke, subsequently getting the tap.
Fast forward four years, coming in off the back of a controversial title loss to Jones, Alexander Gustafsson found himself headlining in London against the hometown fighter, Jimi Manuwa. Again in this fight, “The Mauler” found himself having a lot of success controlling the early stages on the mat. In round 2 though, he came out with his forward pressure and caught Manuwa with a beautiful knee from the clinch making it 3-0 on British soil, with three finishes making himself somewhat a fans favourite to British fight fans.
Krylov’s British Story So Far
Although Krylov has only fought in the UK once so far in his career, with that being back in March this year, the Ukrainian has fought in Ireland’s capital back in 2014.
Krylov had the pleasure of being on the McGregor vs Brandao card that headlined in Dublin, with that Fight Night going down as one of the best in UFC history. Krylov who was only 22-years-old at the time and Cody Donovan got into a scrap from the first bell. Donovan threatened with submission attempts throughout the first round, and on a couple of occasions came close to the finish. Krylov though managed to get the back of “Donnybrook” and reigned down blows, with Marc Goddard waving off the bout with just two seconds left of the first round.
Back in March this year, the UFC returned to the O2 in London for the first time in three years, and Krylov was set to take on Scotsman, Paul Craig. Early on in the fight, Krylov got the fight to the ground and was having huge success landing countless hammer fists. “Bearjew” can never be counted out though, and with just over 1 minute left in the round, Craig instinctively snatched the neck of Krylov with his legs, sinking in a triangle choke.
With both fighters in desperate need of a win, there’s no doubt the fans will spend the majority of this one out of their seats.
After much deliberation, striking veterans Liam Harrison and Seksan Or Kwanmuang have finally found a date for their highly anticipated clash.
The pair will meet in a 140-pound catchweight Muay Thai contest when ONE Championship returns to the U.S. for ONE 168: Denver on Saturday, 7th September.
The event inside Denver, Colorado’s Ball Arena is already stacking up to be one of the biggest cards of the year for the world’s largest martial arts organization, and the addition of this matchup will only increase the hype among martial arts fans.
Harrison has been on the sidelines for some time now. He suffered a worrying knee injury when he challenged former ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion Nong-O Hama for the gold at ONE on Prime Video 1 in August 2022, and he had to overcome further complications before thinking about a return to action.
The British striking legend will have a chance to shake off the cobwebs before colliding with Seksan, however, as he is scheduled to make his way back to ONE for a battle with Katsuki Kitano at ONE 167: Stamp vs. Zamboanga on 8th June.
“Hitman” will need all the preparation he can get for his match with Seksan. The former Rajadamnern Stadium and WBC Muay Thai World Champion has built a fearsome reputation in ONE Championship over the last 15 months, given that he amassed eight consecutive wins after his debut last January.
Seksan appeared unstoppable in the promotion until he met Japanese star Yutaro Asashi at ONE Friday Fights 58 earlier this month.
After three thrilling rounds of Muay Thai, the Thai veteran fell to a unanimous decision loss, which means he’ll be charged up for a triumphant return to form against Harrison.
And with “Hitman” keen to find his way back to the top in ONE, their clash in Denver on 7th September is all but guaranteed to be a barnburner.
The whirlwind surrounding Ryan Garcia’s victory over Devin Haney last weekend is just beginning to settle down but it seems the controversial boxer is intent on staying in the headlines as he eyes UFC champion, Sean O’Malley.
The bizarre lead up to the fight with Haney was plagued with erratic behaviour on Garcia’s part, rumours of a mental breakdown, signs of alcohol and drug issues, and generally controversial behaviour. Garcia missed weight by 3.2lbs, and appeared to chug a beer on the scales during the weigh ins.
Entering the fight as an underdog, Garcia surprised everybody by dropping Haney three times and emerging victorious by majority decision. After the fight, Garcia insisted he drank and smoked every day in the build up to the fight and still picked up the win. This shocking turn of events has now opened up a variety of possible lucrative match ups for Garcia going forward, and it seems one MMA superstar wants a piece of that action.
The UFC hasn’t sanctioned a boxing crossover bout since Conor McGregor faced Floyd Mayweather back in 2017. ‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley has long campaigned for the opportunity to test his striking skills against Garcia, and this week on his podcast The Timbo Sugar Show, he insisted that the UFC have already given him the green light to seek out some opportunities in the boxing ring:
“A boxing fight’s possible for sure. I’m not there yet. I’ve still got to become bigger. Two more f*cking sick performances, then we’re talking about being able to do it.
O’Malley continued: “They told me ‘You can do a boxing fight, 100 percent, if it makes us enough money’. The option is there, it just has to be able to make enough money. But Ryan being a f*cking freak like that, you need two A-sides to make a f*cking Floyd v Conor fight”.
Ryan Garcia tweeted an image of himself and O’Malley this week with the caption: “RAINBOW CACA BRAIN. WANTS TO BOX. BE PREPARED TO BLEED RAINBOW”
RAINBOW CACA BRAIN
— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) April 22, 2024
WANTS TO BOX
BE PREPARED TO BLEED RAINBOW pic.twitter.com/GGrvV7ZSCH
Sean O’Malley became the UFC’s bantamweight champion when he knocked out Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 last August. He then defended the belt and avenged the only loss on his record when he dominated Marlon Vera over five rounds at UFC 299 in March.
The next step in the fascinating UFC journey of Alex Pereira remains to be seen. ‘Poatan’ pulled off a sensational knockout finish over Jamahal Hill in the first round of their main event bout at UFC 300 to defend his light heavyweight belt.
In his post-fight interview, the Brazilian called for the opportunity to compete at heavyweight at UFC 301 which takes place in Rio De Janeiro in just a couple of weeks. UFC president Dana White seemed unenthusiastic about that idea, however, and it seems now that the dust has settled after 300, Pereira is a little more willing to take his time before signing up for his next fight.
In an interview with MMA Fighting’s Trocacao Franca podcast, Pereira was asked if he’d rather defend his 205lb title again or test the waters in the heavyweight division. He responded:
“It’s hard to answer that. I haven’t thought too much about it yet. If it’s a longer period of time, I’d obviously rather defend my belt. If it takes too long and I fight at heavyweight and there are injuries, when am I going to defend my belt? I don’t want to hold up the division.
I was imagining the best-case scenario when I called for a heavyweight fight at UFC 301, but I have two broken toes. Both feet are f*cked. It’s complicated. I don’t want to hold up the light heavyweight division. A cool scenario would have been fighting at heavyweight at 301 and then giving the opportunity to someone to fight for the light heavyweight belt next. I think that would have been cool”.
205lb contender Magomed Ankalaev has called for a fight with Pereira on the UFC’s October pay-per-view card in Abu Dhabi, but ‘Poatan’ brushed that idea off instantly, saying:
“I don’t want to fight at the end of the year. I want to fight sooner, so maybe that shows he won’t be ready. I don’t know why he said that. This guy is complicated”.
If Pereira manages to get another win under his belt and is ready to go again before the end of the year, he said he would much rather compete on the Madison Square Garden event in November, which is closer to his current home in Danbury.
“It makes total sense” he said. “Wait one more month and I’m fighting at home? It’s so much better”.
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