Alexander Gustafsson Confirms Retirement: ‘I Don’t Feel Like I Have It in Me Anymore’

Shortly after Alexander Gustafsson suffered a disappointing defeat to Anthony Smith in the UFC Stockholm headliner, he took his gloves off in the Octagon and exited with a simple message: “The show is over, guys.”

At first, Gustafsson’s announcement could be attributed to the heat of the moment. Give the Swedish star some time to think, and his perspective might change. At least for now, “The Mauler” appears to be resolute in his decision.

“Yeah, I am [retired]. I’m done,” Gustafsson said in an interview on ESPN+. “I’m disappointed with the outcome of the fight. I was ready. I was in my zone and it felt good.

“I don’t do this for the money. I do this because I want to be the best and beat the best. If I can’t do that, it is what it is.”

Gustafsson appeared to be heading in the right direction 15 minutes into Saturday’s matchup with Smith, as he hurt his opponent with a body kick in the third stanza in the most decisive moment of the fight to that point. However, Smith was able to turn the tables in round four, as he reversed a throw attempt into a takedown and took Gustafsson’s back. From there, “Lionheart” softened his foe with elbows, flattened him out and locked in the fight-ending rear-naked choke.

It was the second time Gustafsson had suffered a devastating defeat on home soil: In January 2015, the Allstars Training Center representative lost to Anthony Johnson via first-round TKO in the UFC on Fox 14 main event in Stockholm. This time, however, Gustafsson doesn’t feel the desire to continue.

“It feels like I don’t have it in me anymore, to be honest,” he said. “I just have that feeling it’s time now. I don’t want to be a journeyman. I don’t want to do this because I’m getting paid. I want to do this because I love it. I want to be at the top.”

Gustafsson was a three-time light heavyweight title challenger during his UFC tenure. The most memorable of those occurred at UFC 165, where he took Jon Jones to the brink of defeat before losing a closely-contested unanimous decision in September 2013. He also battled then champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 192 before losing a split verdict in October 2015. The 32-year-old was less competitive in a rematch with Jones this past December, falling via third-round stoppage at UFC 232.

Jones, for one, doesn’t believe Gustafsson’s retirement will stick. But if it does, the reigning champ clearly respects the body of work of his light heavyweight rival.

“Honestly I don’t believe you, but if you’re serious, thank you for everything,” Jones wrote on Twitter. “You held the division to a standard and made us better. Go kick ass with that family.”

Honestly I don’t believe you but if you’re serious, thank you for everything. You held the division to a standard and made us better. Go kick ass with that Family.

— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) June 1, 2019

At the moment, Gustafsson sounds like a man who is content to call it a career. Whether that holds true days, months or even years down the road remains to be seen.

“I have everything in my life because of the UFC. I’m thankful and it’s been a great journey,” Gustafsson said.

“It feels like life is so much more than fighting in an Octagon. My life is rich and I’m feeling blessed to have two healthy kids….It’s been an honor for me to represent Sweden and been an honor to fight at the top level and have fun doing it. I just tried to be what I am.”