There's no shortage of talent in the UFC light heavyweight division and UFC Fight Night on June 1 could see a matchup between two of recent title challengers in Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony Smith.
According to ESPN's sources, the two light heavyweight contenders are slated to headline UFC Fight Night on June 1 in Stockholm. While the UFC has not officially announced it, multiple sources told ESPN (and verified by
MMAjunkie) that both fighters have reportedly agreed to the 205-pound matchup. This is an intriguing matchup as both fighters are coming off losses to light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Jones actually
made his comeback against Gustafsson at UFC 232 in December. Coming off a 15-month suspension after testing positive for a metabolite of a banned substance, Jones returned to the Octagon with the chance to regain the belt he was stripped off. He picked apart Gustafsson for three rounds before finishing the fight in the third round to reclaim the light heavyweight championship.
Anthony Smith
challenged Jones for the belt at UFC 235 last weekend in Las Vegas. Although he went all five rounds with Jones, Smith was cautious in his approach and not very aggressive. All three judges scored the fight 48-44 in favor of Jones. Smith actually had a shot at winning the belt via disqualification when Jones landed an illegal knee; however, Smith opted to continue the fight and later told reporters,
"I want to win [the title]. I don't want to steal it."
Gustafsson
is ranked third in the light heavyweight division with Anthony Smith ranked fourth, so this matchup should have some big implications with who could challenge Jones next.