Alexander Gustafsson’s return to the UFC light heavyweight division will have to wait.
Gustafsson (18-7 MMA, 10-7 UFC), a three-time title challenger at 205 pounds, has been forced to pull out of his scheduled bout with Paul Craig (15-4-1 MMA, 7-4-1 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 191 on Sept. 4.
MMA Junkie verified the withdrawal with a person close to the situation, who wished to remain anonymous because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. The exact nature of Gustafsson’s injury is undisclosed.
Gustafsson hasn’t competed since July 2020, when he suffered a first-round submission loss to Fabricio Werdum in his heavyweight debut. The Swede has lost three straight fights overall and retired from the sport in June 2019 before returning to the cage to fight Werdum.
Craig is left in limbo on a five-fight unbeaten streak. His past two wins have been the most notable of his career – finishes of top prospect Jamahal Hill and former champ Mauricio Rua.
UFC Fight Night 191 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.
The latest UFC Fight Night 191 lineup now includes:
- Derek Brunson vs. Darren Till
- Paul Craig vs. opponent TBA
- Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Dalcha Lungiambula
- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Volkan Oezdemir
- Modestas Bukauskas vs. Khalil Rountree
- Jonathan Martinez vs. Marcelo Rojo
- Molly McCann vs. Ji Yeon Kim
- Paddy Pimblett vs. Luigi Vendramini
- Zviad Lazishvili vs. Jack Shore
- Mandy Bohm vs. Ariane Lipski
- Sergey Khandozhko vs. David Zawada
- Alex Perez vs. Matt Schnell
- Tom Aspinall vs. Sergei Pavlovich
- Charles Jourdain vs. Lerone Murphy
