Suffering a devastating first round savaging at the hands of Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson, right in front of thirty thousand of his home country fans, many believed that Alexander Gustafsson’s chance to once again challenge for the title had passed. Believing that he’d never get another crack at the belt, Gustafsson even contemplated early retirement from the sport, but luckily for him the Jon Jones scandal presented him with an unmissable opportunity for redemption.
A towering 205-pounder possessing pinpoint accuracy in his strikes and an excellent defensive grappling system, Gustafsson remains a deadly adversary for just about anyone in the UFC’s ‘glamour division’. With a reach advantage over almost everyone, Gustafsson uses this to stay at range, picking his foes apart with unpredictable flurries of punches, elbows and kicks. In the event that the distance closes, ‘The Mauler’ is also highly skilled in the art of Muay Thai, and is more than capable of finishing the fight from the clinch with knees. His ground game, while nowhere near the level of an elite wrestler, is also an invaluable asset for the Swede defensively, and was instrumental to his success against Jones two years ago.
Bouncing back from his initial title shot disappointment, Cormier proved his elite champion credentials once and for all with a dominant display to claim the vacant gold earlier this year. Now sat atop of the division, ‘DC’ must prove to his few remaining detractors that he deserves to be considered more than a mere paper champion.
Relying heavily on his extensive freestyle wrestling background, Cormier is a relentless and tireless grappling monster who at 36 years of age is scarily still improving in other areas of the sport. ‘DC’ will more often than not use his hulking frame to push the fight to the cage, and in a manner not too different from longtime friend and partner, former heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, will wear his opponent down with constant pressure from close quarters. Cormier also possesses almost criminally underappreciated striking power, power which can be seen in his demolition of the likes of ‘Bigfoot’ Silva and Dion Staring...at heavyweight.
Prediction:
Gustafsson was at his best when he last fought for the belt, but he’ll need to rediscover that form and then some if he is to become only the second man to defeat Daniel Cormier. ‘The Mauler’ might enjoy a significant reach advantage over the short and stocky champion, but that won’t matter if he’s unable to stop Cormier from pushing the fight to the cage. Gustafsson demonstrated excellent takedown defense against Jones, but unfortunately for him the new champion’s grappling is on a completely different level. While it’s not an impossible task, this remains an incredibly tough matchup for the Swede. An unforgiving Cormier will wear Gustafsson down and eventually secure the victory via another rear naked choke in the championship rounds.
UFC 192 Main Card Predictions - Picks in bold:
Flyweight - Joseph Benavidez vs. Ali Bagautinov
Women’s Bantamweight - Jessica Eye vs. Julianna Peña
Heavyweight - Shawn Jordan vs. Ruslan Magomedov
Light Heavyweight - Ryan Bader vs. Rashad Evans
Light Heavyweight Championship - Daniel Cormier © vs. Alexander Gustafsson
UFC Fight Picks 2015 Record: 68-37
What do you think will happen at UFC 192? Leave your predictions below!
A towering 205-pounder possessing pinpoint accuracy in his strikes and an excellent defensive grappling system, Gustafsson remains a deadly adversary for just about anyone in the UFC’s ‘glamour division’. With a reach advantage over almost everyone, Gustafsson uses this to stay at range, picking his foes apart with unpredictable flurries of punches, elbows and kicks. In the event that the distance closes, ‘The Mauler’ is also highly skilled in the art of Muay Thai, and is more than capable of finishing the fight from the clinch with knees. His ground game, while nowhere near the level of an elite wrestler, is also an invaluable asset for the Swede defensively, and was instrumental to his success against Jones two years ago.
Bouncing back from his initial title shot disappointment, Cormier proved his elite champion credentials once and for all with a dominant display to claim the vacant gold earlier this year. Now sat atop of the division, ‘DC’ must prove to his few remaining detractors that he deserves to be considered more than a mere paper champion.
Relying heavily on his extensive freestyle wrestling background, Cormier is a relentless and tireless grappling monster who at 36 years of age is scarily still improving in other areas of the sport. ‘DC’ will more often than not use his hulking frame to push the fight to the cage, and in a manner not too different from longtime friend and partner, former heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, will wear his opponent down with constant pressure from close quarters. Cormier also possesses almost criminally underappreciated striking power, power which can be seen in his demolition of the likes of ‘Bigfoot’ Silva and Dion Staring...at heavyweight.
Prediction:
Gustafsson was at his best when he last fought for the belt, but he’ll need to rediscover that form and then some if he is to become only the second man to defeat Daniel Cormier. ‘The Mauler’ might enjoy a significant reach advantage over the short and stocky champion, but that won’t matter if he’s unable to stop Cormier from pushing the fight to the cage. Gustafsson demonstrated excellent takedown defense against Jones, but unfortunately for him the new champion’s grappling is on a completely different level. While it’s not an impossible task, this remains an incredibly tough matchup for the Swede. An unforgiving Cormier will wear Gustafsson down and eventually secure the victory via another rear naked choke in the championship rounds.
UFC 192 Main Card Predictions - Picks in bold:
Flyweight - Joseph Benavidez vs. Ali Bagautinov
Women’s Bantamweight - Jessica Eye vs. Julianna Peña
Heavyweight - Shawn Jordan vs. Ruslan Magomedov
Light Heavyweight - Ryan Bader vs. Rashad Evans
Light Heavyweight Championship - Daniel Cormier © vs. Alexander Gustafsson
UFC Fight Picks 2015 Record: 68-37
What do you think will happen at UFC 192? Leave your predictions below!