Johnson knocks out Gustafsson in first round on UFC card in Stockholm
There will be no rematch between Alexander Gustafsson and light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Anthony Johnson made sure of that with several crushing right hands Saturday in the main event of an Ultimate Fighting Championship card televised on Fox.
Johnson knocked out Gustafsson 2:15 into the first round in Gustafsson’s hometown of Stockholm. The result silenced the sold-out crowd of almost 30,000 at Tele2 Arena.
Johnson connected with a big right hand as Gustafsson attempted a kick. Johnson pursued as Gustafsson tried to regain his senses and eventually dropped him to his knees with another punch.
Gustafsson tried his best to survive a barrage of right hands as he covered up on all fours. But Johnson found his mark too often, and the fight was mercifully stopped after Gustafsson’s neck was snapped back violently on two consecutive punches.
Gustafsson was in position to challenge Jones for the belt again after giving the champion the most competitive fight of his title reign in September 2013.
But it was not to be, as Johnson won his third straight fight since returning to the organization two years after being released.
He immediately turned his attention to the champion, who spent one day in rehab this month after testing positive for cocaine in his system.
“Jon Jones, I hope you get well, brother,” Johnson said. “Let’s get this championship on and make the crowd excited about this.”
Gustafsson broke down after losing before what had been a raucous home crowd.
“I felt great for the few minutes we fought, and he just caught me,” Gustafsson said. “I got caught today. That’s what happened.”
Johnson was pleased with his performance but sympathized with his opponent.
“Alex did everything I thought he was going to do,” Johnson said. “He’s an amazing fighter and an athlete. I feel bad, just because he’s crying. I’m an emotional guy, so I feel his pain.”
It wasn’t the only light heavyweight bout on the card.
Reno native Ryan Bader won a split decision over Phil Davis in a bout during which neither fighter did much to separate himself.
“It was a split decision, but I walked out with a win, so I’m happy,” Bader said. “Performance-wise, I felt like I was a bit sloppy at times. He’s obviously a really good wrestler. His standup is just sporadic. At the end of the day, I came out of there with a win and got the job done. Now, back to training — try to sharpen up those skills.”
Also, Gegard Mousasi knocked out Dan Henderson 1:10 into a middleweight bout. Henderson disputed the stoppage, but he appeared to be out when the referee waved off the fight.
“I like Dan Henderson, but of course I’m happy and pleased that I won,” Mousasi said. “It was a good victory. I thought it was a good stoppage. Right when he went down, I would have been able to put another punch in it, but I didn’t because I thought the referee would stop it. And then I thought, well maybe they aren’t going to stop it, so I kept punching afterward. So I think it was a good stoppage.”
Makwan Amirkhani landed a flying knee to the body to knock out Andy Ogle six seconds into a featherweight bout.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.
