Former UFC light heavyweight title contender Alexander Gustafsson is set to return to the Octagon this fall when he faces off with Paul Craig.
Gustafsson recently hinted that he was making a comeback, and he’ll do so on September 4 when he takes on the BJJ wizard Craig at UFC London. Frontkick.Online was the first to break the news about the Gustafsson vs. Craig fight. BJPenn.com earlier in the day confirmed that the September 4 card is scheduled to take place in London, with the other new addition of a bantamweight matchup between Nathaniel Wood and Jonathan Martinez.
Gustafsson (18-7) will be returning to the UFC light heavyweight division after getting submitted by Fabricio Werdum last summer on Fight Island in a failed experiment to try out the heavyweight division. The 34-year-old Swede is currently riding a three-fight losing skid to Werdum, Anthony Smith, and Jon Jones, with his last official victory in the Octagon coming against Glover Teixeira in May 2017. In addition to Teixeira, who is the No. 1 contender at 205lbs right now, Gustafsson also holds a notable victory over current UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz in 2016. “The Mauler” is not currently ranked at 205lbs after fighting Werdum in his last fight, but a win over Craig would get him back in the top-15, and get him back on track after struggling so much over the last few years.
Craig (15-4-1) is currently the No. 12 ranked light heavyweight in the UFC. The 33-year-old Scotland native has won his last three fights and is unbeaten over his last five fights overall. In his last outing, he picked up one of the best submission wins of the year so far when he tapped out Jamahal Hill with an armbar. With a win over Gustafsson, a big name in the division, Craig could potentially be in line to fight a higher-ranked opponent next.
