Report: Alexander Gustafsson Meets Former Title Contender At Upcoming PPV
After remaining on the sidelines since May 2017, it appears Alexander Gustafsson will finally return at UFC 227 as has been rumored.
The two-time former title contender had been linked to bouts with former middleweights Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero, but he’ll now meet another high-ranked challenger native to his own 205-pound weight class.
A report broke from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that recent title challenger Volkan Oezdmir has verbally agreed to shift his upcoming fight to August 4’s UFC 227 – the event Gustafsson has been rumored to fight at for quite some time:
BREAKING: Alexander Gustafsson (@AlexTheMauler) and Volkan Oezdemir (@volkan_oezdemir) have verbally agreed to meet at UFC 227 on Aug. 4 in Los Angeles, multiple sources say. UFC has been working on a fight for Gustafsson on that card for awhile, finally got one done.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 2, 2018
After rushing out to a title shot with three quick wins in 2017, Oezdmir lost his title shot to current champ Daniel Cormier at January’s UFC 220, allowing Cormier to move onto his massive super fight with heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic in the main event of this weekend’s UFC 226 from Las Vegas.
Oezdmir was booked to face former champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in Germany on July 22, but Okamoto reported that he understandably agreed to move to UFC 227, with the UFC currently seeking a replacement for ‘No Time’:
Volkan Oezdemir was scheduled to face Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua on July 22 in Germany, but the UFC opted to move him to UFC 227 against Alexander Gustafsson. UFC currently working on a replacement to face Shogun.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 2, 2018
The frontrunner to meet Rua in Germany is reportedly Anthony Smith, who most recently knocked out former champ Rashad Evans at June 9’s UFC 225:
Per sources, Anthony Smith is the front runner to replace Volkan Oezdemir against Shogun Rua on July 22 in Germany. Not done yet, but he’s the leading candidate at the moment.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 2, 2018
