Fighting in the main event in front of an adoring hometown crown, Alexander Gustafsson faced the biggest test of his promising mixed martial arts (MMA) career last night (April 14, 2012) when he stepped inside the Octagon to fight Thiago Silva at UFC on FUEL TV 2.
He passed with flying colors.
Gustafsson kept his distance and picked his shots, demonstrating tremendous discipline and moxy well-beyond his 25 years. "The Mauler," like the rest of us, knew that Silva is an aggressive, hard-hitting fighter who only needs to capitalize on one mistake to end a fight. He never got that chance because Gustafsson implemented a fantastic gameplan that earned him a rightful unanimous decision victory.
That's now five straight wins for the Swede, who is now most likely knocking on the door of a potential title shot against the winner of the upcoming fight between Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans at UFC 145 next weekend. Sure, finishing Silva in impressive fashion would have helped him make a better case, but Gustafsson clearly has what it takes to compete at the highest level of the sport.
But, just how high?
For a more detailed recap on the fight between Alexander Gustafsson vs Thiago Silva click here and for complete UFC on FUEL TV 2: "Gustafsson vs Silva" results and detailed blow-by-blow commentary of the televised main card fights click here. And to hear what Chael Sonnen thinks about the future of Gustafsson click here.
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