Alexander Gustafsson needed a win in the worst kind of way, and he got one in Hamburg, Germany on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 93.
Gustafsson returned after 11 months away and scored a dominant decision over Polish fighter, Jan Blachowicz, taking him down and keeping him there for large portions of the bout.
Though he took some early shots from the underdog, Gustafsson was able to take Blachowicz down with 90 seconds to go in the first round. He rained down elbows from Blachowicz's guard, and finished the round strong from that position.
They traded early in the second round, and Gustafsson this time wasted no time in taking the fight to the ground. He shot in for a double-leg just 20 seconds in, and dumped Blachowicz to the canvas. From there he went to work. He opened up a cut on Blachowicz's head with an elbow, and exacted a vicious ground-and-pound assault on Blachowicz, who was helpless to get himself back up. Gustafsson dominated the round from that position.
In the third, Blachowicz came out throwing bombs, and landed a nice punch on Gustafsson in the first minute. But "The Mauler" took the fight back to the ground, and the fight stayed there for the bulk of the round.
The judge's scored it 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 for Gustafsson.
"You know, I still have a lot to work on, I have to improve everything all the time," he said in the post-fight interview. "So, it's a great fight, and a great opportunity fight in Hamburg."
When asked if taking him down was the game plan, Gustafsson said it was.
"I knew he was a very powerful puncher, and he's a very well-rounded guy," he said. "But, I knew he wanted to finish me in the first couple of rounds, so I knew he would come on hard. I took the opportunity to take him down."
With the win, Gustafsson improves to 17-5 overall, and wins for the second time in five fights. The 33-year old Blachowicz drops to 19-6 and has now lost three of four.