Alexander Gustafsson deemed medically unfit to compete by SMMAF
First it was off, then it was back on. But now it’s officially been ruled off for sure. In a statement released to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, UFC Light Heavyweight Alexander Gustafsson has been ultimately ruled medically unfit to participate in his main event bout at UFC Sweden April 6th. After much speculation back and forth, Gustafsson’s cut was simply too dangerous to fight with:
“According to SMMAF regulations the competitors in a match shall be examined by the certified appointed match doctor prior to the match. The examination is always carried out the day before the match, this is to safeguard that a competitor shall never be cleared for a match earlier than the day before the match.”
“In the case of Alexander Gustafsson there was a request for an early indicative medical examination which was immediately performed on March 30th (Easter Eve). The federation doctors that performed the examination informed Gustafsson that his injury was of such a nature that it was very unlikely that he would be medically cleared for a match in the near future. These doctors did not have a mandate to stop the match at the time of that examination.”
“The SMMAF Medical Committee has today reviewed the circumstances regarding Gustafsson and his injury,” the statement continued. “The SMMAF Medical Committee recognizes that a competitor cannot be medically cleared earlier than the day before the match. However, bearing in mind that a correct medical examination that met the regulatory demands has been performed, nothing in the SMMAF regulations hinders the SMMAF Medical Committee from making a decision to stop Gustafsson from competing. As it is clear that Alexander Gustafsson will not be fit to compete as planned and cannot be medically cleared on Friday the 5th of April, the SMMAF Medical Committee has today decided that Alexander Gustafsson will not be allowed to participate in the planned match on April 6th.”
So while Gustafsson technically could not be cleared until the day before the fight, the SMMAF has ruled he will be not fit to compete in any capacity. Wanderlei Silva was rumored to replace Gustafsson and fight MoUSAsi, but it turned out to be an April Fool’s prank yesterday.
Now speculation for a real replacement will begin. Stay tuned to Lowkick MMA for all updates and details on this weekend’s event from Sweden.
