Daniel Cormier blasts Alexander Gustafsson for pulling out of UFC 227; Gustafsson responds

Steven Muehlhausen

Daniel Cormier blasts Alexander Gustafsson for pulling out of UFC 227; Gustafsson responds image

A rematch between heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson is officially no longer on the table.

Right after Anthony Smith destroyed 'Shogun' Rua in the main event of UFC Hamburg, Smith called out Gustafsson for a fight at UFC 227. Moments later, it was reported by MMA Junkie that Gustafsson pulled out of UFC 227 due to a "minor injury". 

Seeing what occurred, Cormier took to his social media accounts and had some harsh words for his former opponent.

 

 

 

Dear Alex, I don’t know what happened to you going back to the Rockhold situation. You have always been a stand up guy but your behavior changed. From calling a guy out the day after he got knocked out, to now offering to fight me knowing I have a broken hand, after Volkan couldn’t go. Now you’ve turned down Jan, turned down Khalil all while calling for a heavyweight title fight. Now, moments after Anthony Smith does his work like an animal you decide you’re hurt. Man, I respect you as a fighter. I will always be grateful for October 2015, but you and I won’t share the octagon again. I am disappointed in who you’ve become. You are so entitled, man, I can’t deal with delusional people. Good luck recovering. Our time has passed. See you from the commentary table. DC @alexthemauler #wegoourseparateways

A post shared by Daniel "DC" Cormier (@dc_mma) on

Late Sunday evening, Gustafsson's management team released a statement on the entire situation.

"Doctors pulled Alex from the card last Friday. Days before Anthony was to compete. Before that we were trying to stay on the card. Assuming we could get cleared, we were prepared to face anyone. We assumed it would be (Khail) Rountree as he was ready fight, and we were told Jan would fight at another time. We also offered to fight DC at heavyweight if he was healthy. So Alex was prepared to face anyone, ranked or unranked. But the doctor’s said he was unfit to compete. 

"It was determined last Friday he would not be on the card. Days before the Smith contest."

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Cormier and Gustafsson had one of greatest fights in UFC history back at UFC 192 in Oct. 2015, with Cormier winning the back-and-forth battle by unanimous decision.

Steven Muehlhausen

Steven Muehlhausen Photo

Steven Muehlhausen is a contributing writer for DAZN News. He writes features and news stories, and provides analysis relating to the world of boxing. Over the past five years, he has interviewed some of the biggest names in combat sports, including Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Terence Crawford, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Bill Goldberg.