Alexander Gustafsson Reveals Targeted Weight For Heavyweight Debut
Gustafsson Wants To Keep His Speed At Heavyweight
Alexander Gustafsson doesn’t plan on putting on the weight for his move up.
It was recently announced that Gustaffson would be making his heavyweight debut when he returns to action against Fabricio Werdum on July 25 in Abu Dhabi’s Fight Island.
It’s a new challenge for “The Mauler” who will not only face new and bigger opponents, but also no longer has to cut a lot of weight before he competes. That said, he still plans on competing at his usual in-fight weight that he competed at during his 205 days.
“I’ve always seen myself as a big light heavyweight fighter, I have a big frame and walk around quite heavy,” Gustafsson told MaulerBet. “So I’ve always had to cut around 33lbs to make weight. And since the fight got finalized just now, with 6-7 weeks to go I wouldn’t have been able to make LHW anyway. But regardless I would’ve made to move to HW to try it out, it’s a new challenge to put it simply. For me to be able to down a chicken pasta in fight week hasn’t happened in 15 years.
“My walk around weight is at about 236-238lbs and at the time of the fight I think I’ll be around 231-233lbs. Even though I’m moving up a weight class I don’t want to add any unnecessary mass. I want to stay at the weight I perform the best at in training and that is around 227-231lbs. It’s right at the sweet spot, I feel strong there while also retaining speed and keeping myself injury free. In the past when I’d made my 33lbs weight cut there would always be some small injury, my back, my knee or something else. It takes a toll on you to make that cut during all these years. This is a whole new division with its own set of challenges and a whole different beast I’ll be facing at that weight.”
Gustafsson last competed in June last year when he suffered a submission defeat to Anthony Smith. He announced his retirement soon after before having a change of heart a few months later.
How do you think Gustafsson will perform in his heavyweight debut?
