Stephen Thompson believes Alexander Gustafsson "in his prime" would beat Jiri Prochazka
Stephen Thompson has suggested that Alexander Gustafsson in his prime would’ve beaten Jiri Prochazka. The 35-year-old Gustafsson has competed for the UFC light heavyweight title thrice in the past. However, ‘The Mauler’ hasn't been able to capture the title in any of the fights.
Gustafsson’s three attempts at winning the light heavyweight title witnessed him lose twice to Jon Jones and once to Daniel Cormier, both of whom have held the title. Taking to his YouTube channel, UFC welterweight contender Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson and his brother Tony Thompson recapped Saturday’s UFC 275 event.
‘Wonderboy’ addressed the 29-year-old Jiri Prochazka’s incredible fifth-round submission win over Glover Teixeira at UFC 275, which saw Prochazka become the new UFC light heavyweight champion. Discussing the same, Stephen Thompson explained that he’d have loved to see a prime Gustafsson fight Prochazka. Thompson stated:
“I wish Alexander Gustafsson was still in the game or in his prime right now. I think he could beat him... Prochazka. I think he could beat everybody. He was beating everybody. Just the only person that he couldn’t beat was Jon Jones. You know what I mean? Golly! That was something.”
WHAT ON EARTH JUST HAPPENED?! With 30-seconds left! 😱
28 finishes in 29 professional wins, @jiri_bjp is your new UFC light heavyweight champion! 🏆
#UFC275 #MMA #UFC #Teixeira #Prochazka https://t.co/biiDhlUpBp
Tony Thompson chimed in and noted that apart from Jones, Gustafsson lost to Daniel Cormier as well. ‘Wonderboy’ replied by indicating that Gustafsson vs. Cormier was a closely-contested fight. Regardless, they reiterated that ‘Gus’ did come up short in his bid to dethrone Jones when the latter was the light heavyweight champion and similarly failed to beat Cormier for the belt.
Furthermore, the Thompson brothers proceeded to discuss how Prochazka would fare in potential fights against Jones and Cormier. ‘Wonderboy’ opined that ‘BJP’ would have a puncher’s chance against Cormier, but 'DC' would still be favored to win. Stephen Thompson added that Jones as well would be the favorite to defeat Prochazka.
Watch Stephen Thompson discuss a hypothetical Alexander Gustafsson vs. Jiri Prochazka matchup at the 37:28-minute mark in the video below:
Could a Jiri Prochazka vs. Alexander Gustafsson fight materialize in 2022?
New UFC light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka has claimed that he’d like to face former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz next and that the fight should take place in Europe. Since losing the title to Glover Teixeira, Poland's Blachowicz has been relentlessly waiting to get a shot at the title again.
#UFC275Looks like @Jiri_BJP has his eyes set on his first title challenger 👀 #UFC275 https://t.co/ydMTYzqWng
Prochazka is currently on a 13-fight win streak. On the contrary, Alexander Gustafsson is on a 3-fight losing streak. Furthermore, Gustafsson’s most recent fight transpired at heavyweight in July 2020 where to lost to Fabricio Werdum via armbar.
Presently, Gustafsson is scheduled to return to light heavyweight and fight Nikita Krylov at UFC London on July 23. Considering the aforementioned variables at play, it appears that even if Gustafsson were to beat Krylov, he’s unlikely to fight Prochazka for the title anytime soon.
Nikita Krylov will fight Alexander Gustafsson at UFC event on July 23rd. (first rep. @FrontkickOnline) #UFC #MMA #UFCESPN https://t.co/CkPP3WYG9G