Alexander Gustafsson Hopes Daniel Cormier Beats Jon Jones

Alexander Gustafsson spoke with MMAjunkie after his win over Glover Teixeira at UFC Fight Night 109. Highlights are below:

On not wanting to fight Jimi Manuwa: “Well, first of all, my friend, I’ll never fight Jimi Manuwa. We’re good friends; we’re good training partners. We develop each other in training. We do this together…We just have to communicate, see who wins the sparring. Nah, just joking. We’ll see what happens. We do this together.”

On his loss to Anthony Johnson: “I just learned from that (fight with Johnson). It wasn’t my night. I don’t blame anything. Anthony Johnson is a knockout artist. I was just too slow. I was a slow starter that night; it wasn’t my night at all. I have to be first. I have to be there. It’s tough competition. You can’t just wait for them to start. You can’t take a punch and then start working – that punch could be the punch that will end your night. You have to be there and be first. That’s what I learned from that night.”

On proposing to his girlfriend: “We just had a baby, so it just came naturally. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have popped the question if I lost this fight, but I won it, and it felt like it was the right moment for me to do it.”

On his plan if he gets a title shot: “It’s all about the last rounds. I’ve been so close to winning the fights, I lose a little bit at the end. I’m not going to lose on the finish line again. It’s not going to happen. Tonight I could have gone 10 rounds. I could go 10 rounds next time I fight ‘DC’ or Jones.”

On who he hopes will win: “(Jones) is the biggest enemy. I don’t like him. I give him that he’s the best fighter of all time. He’s the pound-for-pound in our division. Everybody knows he hasn’t lost yet. He demolishes everyone he fights. But as a person, as a champion, he’s not a champion in my eyes. He’s not a good person in my eyes. I always tell the guys, I hope ‘DC’ wins, because I like the guy. He’s a worthy champion.”