Why is Alexander Gustafsson back at light heavyweight? Simple: 'It's my division'

LONDON – Alexander Gustafsson is back to his original weight class.

After a short stint at heavyweight, Gustafsson (18-7 MMA, 10-7 UFC) will return to 205 pounds when he meets Nikita Krylov (27-9 MMA, 8-7 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 208 main card, which takes place at The O2 and streams on ESPN+.

Gustafsson tried his hand at heavyweight in his past outing but was quickly submitted by Fabricio Werdum in July 2020. Now he returns to the division where he challenged for the UFC title three times.

“It’s my division, so feeling good to be back,” Gustafsson told MMA Junkie on Wednesday at a pre-fight news conference. “My body feels good and that’s it. It’s my division.”

Despite not finding success at heavyweight, Gustafsson, who’s on a three-fight skid, has no regrets making the move up.

“Not at all,” said Gustafsson, who hasn’t tasted victory since May 2017. “A fight’s a fight, and I felt the heavyweight division, and I was feeling very comfortable in the heavyweight division, but I’ve always been in the light heavyweight division, so that’s my division. So I’m back.”

He continued, “I felt strong as a heavyweight. The fight ended up as it did, but I felt strong. I felt fast for being a heavyweight, and also I’m a pretty big light heavyweight, so it was good. But the light heavyweight division has always been there, it’s always where I’ve been fighting, competing. I feel great to be back. I’m excited to be back, and it’s been a while.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 208.