Alexander Gustafsson has officially withdrawn from his bout at UFC 227 due to a minor injury according to reports. Gustafsson’s manager Nima Safapour confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Sunday following an initial report by MMA Junkie.
Safapour issued the following statement to MMA Fighting regarding Gustafsson’s status:
“Alex Gustafsson is out of UFC 227 with a minor injury. The injury occurred last week. Since that time, we have been working closely with the UFC doctors, our doctors in Sweden, and the experts at the UFC Performance Institute. We have been advised that Alex has a minor injury and he will not be permitted to compete at UFC 227. Had Alex been fit to fight, we were prepared to face Roundtree or anyone else the UFC had asked us; including DC Cormier at heavyweight.
Alex will be fighting again very soon. He will give his side of the story shortly. We don’t care who the opponent is. But whomever we face it should be for the meaningful result of the LHW UFC Title.”
Gustafsson has gotten tremendous heat from fighters and fans alike due to the pull out. Current Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier penned a statement shaming the light heavyweight and stated that the two will never share the octagon ever again. You can read the full post below:
Dear Alex, I don’t know what happened to you going back to the Rockhold situation. You have always been a stand up guy but your behavior changed. From calling a guy out the day after he got knocked out, to now offering to fight me knowing I have a broken hand, after Volkan couldn’t go. Now you’ve turned down Jan, turned down Khalil all while calling for a heavyweight title fight. Now, moments after Anthony Smith does his work like an animal you decide you’re hurt. Man, I respect you as a fighter. I will always be grateful for October 2015, but you and I won’t share the octagon again. I am disappointed in who you’ve become. You are so entitled, man, I can’t deal with delusional people. Good luck recovering. Our time has passed. See you from the commentary table. DC @alexthemauler #wegoourseparateways
A post shared by Daniel "DC" Cormier (@dc_mma) on
Another statement was made by Gustafsson's manager that the doctors pulled Alex from the card last Friday. Gustafsson’s original opponent, Volkan Oezdemir, was forced out of the fight due to injury.
Anthony Smith vs. Alex Gustafsson appeared to be the replacement bout, but that’s no longer the case.