Earning a round of applause from the assembled media in Stockholm, Sweden, Alexander Gustafsson took time out after his UFC Fight Night 109 victory to discuss the fight, and his marriage proposal in the cage afterwards.
Gustafsson finished opponent Glover Teixeira in the fifth round of their headlining bout, earning Fight of the Night honors. He then popped the question to his girlfriend in the cage. Saying it was “about time” that he tied the knot, the Swedish contender confirmed it was always the plan to drop the question.
“Yeah it was. It’s about time. We can continue now. We just had a baby, so it just came naturally. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have popped the question if I had lost this fight, but I won it, and it felt like it was the right moment for me to do it.”
Gustafsson also talked about his strategy in a fight that may go down as the best win of his career. “The strategy was speed and precision” he said. “I knew I would have a tough time with Glover hand to hand, staying in front of him, battling him. He’s a strong tough guy, big heart, a lot of will” Gustafsson continued.
“So I knew I had to move, I had to be smart, take my time. I could do ten rounds, I don’t have any problem with conditioning.”
The Swede admitted that Teixeira “got some good punches in” but insisted that he was never in any danger. That might raise some eyebrows, as at times, Gustafsson turned his back on his opponent while pedaling out of danger, something that almost saw him caught. Still, you can’t argue with the results.
“I did everything in my power to win this fight. I had a great camp” he explained. “Great, great sparring” with Jimi Manuwa and Bellator MMA champion Phil Davis helped him prepare for the bout Sunday.
When asked if he had done enough to earn a shot at the winner of Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones, Gustafsson answered “in my opinion, yes, but we’ll see what happens.” Friend and training partner Jimi Manuwa is seen by many as next in line, and Gustafsson said later in the press conference that the pair would never fight each other. “We do this together, no matter what.”
