Alexander Gustafsson is back on a pay-per-view lineup.
MMA Fighting confirmed with sources with knowledge of the matchup that the three-time UFC title challenger is set to fight Ovince Saint Preux (26-16) in a light heavyweight bout at UFC 282 on Dec. 10 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. This marks Gustafsson’s first PPV event appearance since UFC 232 in December 2018, though it is not yet known if his bout with Saint Preux will take place on the main card.
The bout was first reported by MMA Junkie.
Gustafsson (18-8) seeks his first win since May 2017, when he defeated Glover Teixeira by fifth-round knockout in his home country of Sweden. That win earned Gustafsson a second shot at Jon Jones for a vacant light heavyweight title at UFC 232, but Gustafsson was again defeated by Jones. “The Mauler” has lost four straight fights, including his most recent outing this past July in London where he returned to the 205-pound division and was finished in 67 seconds by Nikita Krylov.
Saint Preux is coming off of a split decision win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 274 this past May, his second win over the light heavyweight legend. “OSP,” who fought Jones for an interim light heavyweight title in 2016, is 4-6 in his past 10 appearances and 14-11 in the UFC overall.
Mike Heck and Damon Martin contributed to this report.
