Shogun is done as an elite fighter, he's just coming to brawl, which is fun but not gonna get him anywhere against the elite, the guy who fought Machida is gone, that's obvious.
Gus should have took advantage of his high guard with body kicks and when he had him against the cage he needed to tee off and not back away, either he's won so I guess it doesn't matter. Good chin on Gus too.
He fought very safe and smart, you see his face not a mark on him. He won every round and Shogun had a lot of good tricks up his sleeve and Alexander avoided them all.
At this point...
1. Jones
2. Evans
3. Henderson
4. Gustaf
5. Machida
6. Rua
7. Davis
The next step in the evolution of mma is elite conditioning and it was shown tonight. These new lions don't get tired and that was the difference on these two fights
Machida is in his prime as well and TRT Dan might as well be.
Also Mousasi could definitely beat Gustaffson. I wouldn't favour him but if Gustaffson is going in for a tune up fight I wouldn't put him against Mousasi.
I thought the first round was competitive but Gustafsson clearly took control over the last two. He still has a lot to work on. His chin is definitely sturdy, but he needs to improve his striking defense. If Rua wasn't so tired, he would have probably dismissed Gustaf from his consciousness.
That being said, I'm impressed by Gustaf, but at the same time I'm not convinced he will have anything for Jones at all, and I'm not quite convinced he could beat Rashad, Henderson or Machida.
Gustafsson is the one who is underrated, not Rashad. Gus striking is just way too good for Rashad to handle, and Rashad won't take him down very easily. Gus is just way stronger and bigger than Rashad, I've heard people who have sparred with both GSP, Jones and Gus and they say Gus is the strongest by far, and a better than fighter than any of them.
That was mental. Significant strikes were dead even during the second, from then on it was about conditioning. Great win for Gustaf but he definitely faced Shogun at the right time, he was getting caught even when he was much fresher, and nearly got submitted in the first.
Can't wait to see Gustaf fight for the title, though that may be a while away. Maybe a bit premature as he's only on a one fight lose streak, but I honestly wouldn't mind if Shogun hangs 'em up, he has nothing to prove, just went a competitive three rounds with a young beast... just keep your record at 21-7, it's one of the most impressive in the sport. Shogun's heart and toughness is a thrill to watch but I'm not interested in him ruining his record against guys who, on paper, should not be beating him.
Gustaf handled the bad bits very well, I think stylistically he's a problem for Jon Jones.
Yeah Gus did not fight safe... he threw down with Shogun and while landing more strikes, took some massive shots for his trouble. I think he lost the first round, I scored it 29-28 Gustaf.
Rashad is a bad matchup for Gus imo. He would not be able to stop Rashad's takedowns.
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