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UFC light heavyweight Alexander Gustafsson certainly isn't happy to see now former champion Jon Jones' fall from grace.
Gustafsson pushed Jones in the Octagon harder than anyone and while he stumbled making it back to him, the Swede wanted to earn his own title by taking it off his chief rival.
Gustafsson even cheered Jones on in January when the champ defended his title to Daniel Cormier at UFC 182.
"Me personally, I want Jones to win, because I want to fight him," Gustafsson told MMA Fighting in December. "If I want to take the belt from anyone, it would be Jones. Not DC."
With those plans looking pretty grim, Gustafsson now feels robbed of the chance to truly become a legitimate champion.
"I want to say that he is the best guy in the world, he is the champion and he is the best pound for pound, no doubt about that," Gustafsson posted in a video to Facebook (via http://mmasucka.com/). "It's also very tragic because all of the fighters are working very hard to get to that position to face him for the title and to become the world champion.
"So, he hasn't lost that title from competition; he lost it because he did stupid things. Even if I go up there and I compete and I win the world title, it's not the same because you want to get that belt from the best guy in the world, so I think it's very tragic."
Calling the situation 'very tragic for the sport, for Jones and for the UFC,' Gustafsson said he would 'only wish that [Jones] will get better and learn from this."
"I think [UFC] did the right thing," Gustafsson said. "That was the only thing that they could have done, because so many things Jon Jones has been doing and he's been getting away with stuff, so how far can he go? It doesn't do him a favor doing that. This is a favor to him. That you show that this is not acceptable, that you can't continue doing this while you're having the world title. You have to represent the sport well, you have to be a role model for young kids. You're the ambassador for the sport globally basically."
Gustafsson will headline opposite fellow former contender Glover Teixeira June 20 at UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Teixeira in Berlin, Germany.
5 MUST-READ STORIES
'This one was his last chance.' Dana White discusses the decision to suspend and strip Jon Jones of his light heavyweight title. 'He's got some work to do outside of the sport. Then we'll decide when he comes back.'
Done. Reebok terminates its endorsement deal with Jon Jones. 'In light of recent events, we have made the decision to terminate our contract with Jon Jones, effective immediately.'
Chat Wrap. Luke Thomas discusses Jon Jone's future, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao and more in this week's live chat.
New No. 1. Jon Jones as been yanked from the UFC's rankings, making Jose Aldo the new No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter.
Pray. Khabib Nurmagomedov will have his knee examined Thursday after being injured in camp.
MEDIA STEW
Brian Stann isn't too surprised.
Dana White on talks Jones, Floyd vs. Manny and then go into some sort of money booth.
Highlights from Luis 'Buscape' Firmino vs. Uros Jurisic on TUF.
Jones in the courtroom.
Bisping finally made it.
TTTHS.
Long watches.
MMA 3 Way: Jon Jones' fall + Mayweather vs Pacquiao for MMA fans
...
5 Rounds Today - Jon Jones' Hit-And-Run, Fans Perspectives, UFC 186 Recap
TWEETS
Beef.
Just Photo.....Я просто оставлю это здесь.... @UFC #teamaka https://t.co/fjttW3AVlq pic.twitter.com/BexpvOiCxg
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) April 29, 2015
@TeamKhabib karma is a bitch hope that disability pays well!!!
— Anthony Pettis (@Showtimepettis) April 30, 2015
@TeamKhabib all that shit talking and you're that's karma my friend
— Michael (@TeamRocBiggie) April 30, 2015
@TWooodley @ufc @FOXSports1 @AmericanTopTeam @SantiagoMMA you only were there for camp time to time, like visiting a house of an uncle
— Gesias JZ Cavalcante (@Gesias) April 30, 2015
Sounds good.
Training my ass of, and will continue to train my ass off! Work through injuries, good days and the... https://t.co/xGLdwFElBW
— Cowboy Cerrone (@Cowboycerrone) April 30, 2015
Odd man out.
To everyone asking, no word yet. My preference is to fight winner of AJ - DC make it 5 wins in a row and get the belt. Let's make it happen
— Ryan Bader (@ryanbader) April 29, 2015
Glover 2 fight losing streak, Gus kod by potential champ last fight, Rashad out, I have 4 fight win streak, 3 over top ten Feijao OSP Davis
— Ryan Bader (@ryanbader) April 29, 2015
More Jones reactions.
I'm saddened for and disappointed in my teammate. I'm proud that the @ufc responded the way that they did. #JonJones
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) April 29, 2015
Enjoying some down time! Sad to hear about @JonnyBones! Hope he makes a strong comeback
— Alistair Overeem (@Alistairovereem) April 29, 2015
Proud of the @UFC for stripping Jones of the title. It's the right thing to do and I think it's the only way for him to fix his ways.
— Dan Hardy (@danhardymma) April 29, 2015
Crazy news about jon Jones. I wonder how this is all gonna play out stay tuned. I'm in the thick of it when I get back from surgery
— jimi manuwa (@POSTERBOYJM) April 29, 2015
OK.
The rankings are still wrong.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 29, 2015
The world is mine.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 29, 2015
Damn.
Go hold your breath for 10 minutes, then I'll tell you. https://t.co/MuZCbtr2Jk
— Chael Sonnen (@sonnench) April 29, 2015
Eh?
Just saw @Cowboycerrone needs a new opponent. Lets do this man!! @ufc @danawhite @lorenzofertitta #UFC187
— Jorge Masvidal UFC (@GamebredFighter) April 30, 2015
#rampagematchmaking
Fighters like fabiomaldonadocaipiradeaco are good 4 the sport. Be a man fight like a man.. https://t.co/0bFwHEsaqZ
— Quinton Jackson (@Rampage4real) April 29, 2015
Haha man right! I'm just ignoring them. UFC is not boxing,we don't always get to pic who we fight. https://t.co/TDBKgFCeX0
— Quinton Jackson (@Rampage4real) April 29, 2015
Who I wanna fight next @mightymouseufc https://t.co/eiWy0oSCqZ
— Quinton Jackson (@Rampage4real) April 29, 2015
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced yesterday (April 29 2015)
Angela Magana vs. Michelle Waterson at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today's Fanpost of the Day comes via tigerlee.
The Outsiders: Top 25 WWs Outside the UFC, BMMA, and WSOF - April Edition
While much of the talent is under the UFC banner and Bellator and WSOF have seemed to scoop up the best of the rest, there is still plenty of talent yet to be signed by the top promotions of the MMA food chain. These are not necessarily 'free agents' or even prospects, they are top 100 ranked fighters who are navigating the nebulous seas of regional and international fight promotion for whatever reason.
Top ranked Ben Askren (#12) and Luis Santos (#54) were set to engage in a pretty major fight as far as regionals go, but an eye poke by Askren fizzled the bout with a no-contest in the first round. Despite all the finger pointing, no pun intended, ONE Championship will likely rebook the title fight as soon as possible.
...
Check out the rest of the post here.
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