Alexander Gustafsson put in a dominant performance in beating Jimi Manuwa at Ultimate Fight Night 37 in London, England. The fight was stopped after the number one ranked light-heavyweight, Gustafsson knocked Manuwa down early in the second round with an uppercut followed by a knee to the jaw. Once on the ground Gustafsson landed two more shots before the fight was stopped.
Gustafsson was quick to call-out the light heavyweight champion after the match. In the ring he told interviewer Dan Hardy, “Jon Jones, I want my title shot again. I’m right here. Whenever you want, man. Whenever you want.”
The decision win by Jones over Gustafsson at UFC 165 was controversial. Many felt that Gustafsson won the fight, and at the very least deserved an immediate rematch, but Gustafsson had to fight the previously undefeated Manuwa first.
Gustafsson dominated from the start of the fight taking Manuwa to the mat, and controlling nearly the entire round with powerful strikes from the top in both the guard and half-guard positions.
Early in the second round, Gustafsson accidentally poked Manuwa in the right eye. After a stoppage from the referee that allowed Manuwa to recover, he had his best offence of the fight, landing two big rights to the head of Gustafsson. However, Gustafsson would counter, leading to the combination that would put Manuwa down for good.
In other fights, Michael Johnson won in an unanimous decision over Melvin Guillard, in a what was slow and methodical win for Johnson.
Brad Pickett also picked up an unanimous decision victory over Neil Seery. Pickett won the fight with his takedowns and submission attempts, however Seery had the advantage in the stand-up striking game between the two.
Sweden’s Gunnar Nelson started off the main card with a submission victory over Russia’s Omari Akhmedov, catching him with a guillotine choke.
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