UFC Fight Night 93 results: Alexander Gustafsson utilizes ground-and-pound to defeat Jan Blachowicz via unanimous decision

Alexander Gustafsson (17-4) returned to the win column earlier today (Sat., Sept. 3, 2016) at UFC Fight Night 93 inside Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany.

After not finding success on his feet early on in the contest, "The Mauler" utilized takedowns and ground-and-pound over the course of three rounds to earn a unanimous decision over a very game Jan Blachowicz (19-5).

All three judges scored the bout 30-27.

Blachowicz tagged Gustafsson early with a few clean shots, which opened a small cut above the Swedish fighter's right eye. With just over three minutes left, "The Mauler" pressed the Polish native against the fence, but wasn't able to capitalize and they returned to the center of the Octagon. Blachowicz came forward with strikes and pressed Gustafsson against the fence, but the No.2 ranked UFC light heavyweight scored the first takedown of the fight with just over a minute left. From there, Gustafsson landed a pair of nice elbows inside the full guard of Blachowicz, where they stayed glued for the remainder of the round.

Gustafsson intelligently stuck to what was working for him and scored his second takedown of the fight early on in round two. He began to operate in the full guard of Blachowicz like he did at the end of the first round. Gustafsson cut Blachowicz open on the top of his forehead with an elbow and passed to side control briefly, but the former KSW champion recovered to full guard soon after. Toward the end of the round, Gustafsson stood up in the open guard of Blachowicz looking to come back down with a big punch, but wasn't able to do so.

Gustafsson landed a big right hand to start the third round and Blachowicz came back with a nice combination. "The Mauler" then returned to what was working for him in the first two rounds and landed his third takedown of the fight. Gustafsson was working for strikes in the full guard of Blachowicz, whose defense was much better than earlier in the fight. Referee Marc Goddard issued a warning for more action and then eventually stood both fighters up. The break for Blachowicz wasn't a long one as Gustafsson took him back down to the canvas for a fourth time. Gustafsson continued with a steady diet of ground-and-pound until the final horn.

A solid victory for Gustafsson, 29, who remains in the top tier of the UFC light heavyweight division. He improves to 9-4 in UFC competition. Disappointing loss for Blachowicz, who looked great early, but ultimately had no answer for the takedowns of Gustafsson and couldn't get off his back for the entirety of the bout. He falls to 2-3 in UFC in defeat.

For complete UFC Fight Night 93 "Arlovski vs. Barnett results, including play-by-play updates, click here.