UFC/MMA News: Alexander Gustafsson warns Luke Rockhold on moving up to Light Heavyweight

What's the story?

Alexander Gustafsson has warned Luke Rockhold of a rather nasty welcome to the light heavyweight division. The Swedish fighter intends to knock out Rockhold while Daniel Cormier is away preparing for his bout with the heavyweight king Stipe Miocic.

@lukerockhold , your teammate is holding MY Division hostage, and you think there are only easy fights at LHW. If u think Romero hits hard, then wait till you come to the big boys. I want @dc_mma , and knocking u out will keep me warm in the meantime. Beware of coming up in weight because I will be standing at the front door waiting.

A post shared by Alex The Mauler Gustafsson (@alexthemauler) on Feb 13, 2018 at 1:24pm PST

In case you didn't know...

Gustafsson is currently ranked at #1 in the light heavyweight rankings, which would imply that he is next in line to fight Daniel Cormier for the undisputed title.

However, when news broke out regarding a confirmed super fight between Daniel Cormier and the heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic, the Swedish fighter was quick to express his disapproval on Instagram.

@dc_mma is fighting stipe?! Well stop run and fight me! Don’t even think about giving the fight to anyone else! I have been quite, had a tough time after my last fight (injury etc.) but I’m next in line and the dc fight is mine! Come on, let’s have a another dance for the fans! @ufc

A post shared by Alex The Mauler Gustafsson (@alexthemauler) on Jan 27, 2018 at 12:10am PST

The heart of the matter

The Swedish fighter last faced Glover Teixeira in May 2017 at UFC Fight Night, which was held at Stockholm, Sweden. Gustafsson secured an impressive KO victory in this bout and cemented his position as the #1 light heavyweight. The Mauler was, therefore, looking forward to having his rematch with Daniel Cormier.

But now that the Cormier-Miocic super fight is on, a miffed Gustafsson has shifted his attention to Luke Rockhold, who recently spoke of his light heavyweight ambitions. The Swedish striker has promised to welcome Rockhold to the light heavyweight division and knock him out cold.

@lukerockhold , your teammate is holding MY Division hostage, and you think there are only easy fights at LHW. If u think Romero hits hard, then wait till you come to the big boys. I want @dc_mma , and knocking u out will keep me warm in the meantime. Beware of coming up in weight because I will be standing at the front door waiting.

A post shared by Alex The Mauler Gustafsson (@alexthemauler) on Feb 13, 2018 at 1:24pm PST

What's next?

Luke Rockhold just fought Yoel Romero for the interim middleweight title at the recently held UFC 221 and ended up suffering a brutal knockout. Given this loss and his issues with weight cuts, it's safe to say that Rockhold will certainly not stick around in the middleweight division. Perhaps, he would be better off moving up to 205.

On the other hand, Gustafsson does not have any fight scheduled at the moment. So, we just might see him face Rockhold in the near future.

Author's take

Luke Rockhold's fortunes might change for the better if he does move up to 205. A great example is the current middleweight champion Robert Whittaker who moved from welterweight to middleweight back in 2014 and has been undefeated ever since.

Now that his close friend Daniel Cormier is off to chase heavyweight glory, Rockhold should definitely push for a light heavyweight debut against Gustafsson. With a victory against the Mauler, Rockhold could make a strong case for a title fight. And if Cormier decides to return to the light heavyweight division after his bout with Miocic, things could get very interesting.