Alexander Gustafsson may have quietly moved to 4-1 in the UFC before his bout with Vladimir Matyushenko, but he made a lot of noise tonight as a true light heavyweight contender after quickly dispatching Matyushenko in just over two minutes of the first round at UFC 141.
The reach and range of Gustafsson proved to be a stumbling block for Matyushenko, who struggled to get in close enough to set up his wrestling or land any solid strikes in the opening frame.
Matyushenko eventually resorted to recklessly wading into the range of Gustafsson looking to engage. As he fired off a left hand, he walked directly into a left hand from the Swedish light heavyweight that sent him crashing to the mat.
Gustafsson dove in for the finish, landing three big hammerfists that forced “The Janitor” to roll looking to escape the punishment. The referee immediately stepped in and called the action at 2:13 of the first round, just as Gustafsson landed one final left hand.
“It was a good punch,” Gustafsson said in his post-fight interview. “It was my day today. It’s been my dream to fight in Vegas, so this is the biggest win of my life.”
With the win, Gustafsson (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) extends his winning streak in the Octagon to four, with all four coming by way of stoppages.
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