Dana White refutes reports that Alexander Gustafsson has not been cleared to fight at UFC on FUEL TV 9 in Sweden

Alexander Gustafsson sustained a bad cut while training for his UFC on FUEL TV 9 bout against Gegard Mousasi, which takes place this upcoming Saturday (April 6, 2013) at Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.

How bad?

Bad enough to warrant a trip to the doctor at the request of the Swedish Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Federation. MMAmania.com spoke to sources close to the situation that indicated "The Mauler" was not medically cleared to fight and that his bout against Gegard Mousasi was "100-percent off" (full story here).

UFC President Dana White; however, is a bit more optimistic:

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Ariel Helwani
@arielhelwani

Hold up! @danawhite just told me @AlexTheMauler vs. @mousasi_mma is STILL ON. "The SAC has not said he can't fight + he wants to fight."

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15 hours ago via Echofon · powered by @socialditto

Take that with a grain of salt, considering past conversations such as this one.

With just five days until Gustafsson headlines the latest FUEL TV fight card in front of his hometown fans in Sweden, UFC matchmakers would be hard-pressed to find a suitable replacement, so it's no surprise to see the ZUFFA brass try to do everything in their power to keep this card in one piece.

But that decision is ultimately up to the athletic commission, who doesn't care if fans don't want a main event that consists of Ryan Couture vs. Ross Pearson.

How many horses have to die to get Gustafsson's cut glued up in time? That remains to be seen, as does the future of this weekend's headlining bout. As of this writing, Mousasi has been instructed to fly to Sweden to prepare for combat. But against who?

Stay tuned.