Alexander Gustafsson On ‘Sad’ Jon Jones: He Threw It All Away

Alexander Gustafsson is a man closely tied to former longtime light heavyweight champion Jon Jones due to the fact that “The Mauler” took “Bones” to his limits in a five-round slug fest back in 2013. Jones has since lost his title due to legal issues that forced the UFC to suspend him in 2015, but Gustafsson remains as his stiffest challenge to date. “Bones’” latest issue outside of the cage came when he was pulled from his scheduled UFC 200 headliner just days prior after USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) notified him of a potential anti-doping agency.

As far as Jones’ latest issue goes, Gustafsson said it’s ‘sad’:

“As a role model, people look up to him. It’s just sad to see it,” said Gustafsson in an interview with Sporting News earlier this week. “He’s one of a kind. He’s been made something for him that nobody else has ever done in this sport and then he just throws it out the window. I just think it’s sad.”

A rematch between the two 205-pound titans has been wanted since the final bell rang to end their first bout, but at this point, “The Mauler” appears to be more focused on another title shot. If a bout with Jones could launch him into a shot at gold, however, then Gustafsson would be all for it:

“As long as he gets me to a title shot, I’m up for anything,” added Gustafsson regarding a potential rematch with Jones. “”It’s not just because it’s Jon Jones. I want to take that fight. It’s not that. The faster I can get to it, I’ll take it. It doesn’t matter if it is Jon Jones or anybody else. The fight we had is history to me now.”

“It’s nothing that before I was looking for that rematch and I wanted it real bad, title fight or not. Right now, I just take every fight that’s logical and will take me somewhere. If it’s Jon Jones, it’s Jon Jones. I’m not going to wait for a second fight.”

Where should Gustafsson go after his win over Jan Blachowicz this past weekend?