Hot off the press: we have news that Alex Gustafsson has pulled out of UFC 227. In the latest in a slew of UFC withdrawals over the years, what makes this all the more interesting is that Gustafsson is pulling out against Khalil Rountree, who was rumored to be stepping in to replace Volkan Oezdemir pulled out with a broken nose a few days ago.
According to Alex’s camp, doctors had pulled Alex Gustafsson from the card last week, but his camp was assuming that they would get cleared, so they were trying to stay on the card and gave no official withdrawal until Sunday.
Apparently, this will have a long-lasting, deep impact, as Daniel Cormier released a short letter to Gustafsson on Instagram stating that they will never share the octagon again.
“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
Gustafsson has been quite loud about wanting a shot a DC’s belts, but it looks like that is never going to happen. Even Anthony Smith took shots at Alex, calling the ‘injury’ “mighty ironic.” after calling for the fight after his TKO win over Mauricio ‘Shogon’ Rua. It remains unclear if that slot will be completely pulled from the card.
Regardless, we still have an awesome lineup with Dillashaw vs. Garbrandt and Demetrious ‘Mighty-Mouse’ Johnson vs. Henry ‘The Messenger” Cejudo leading the way.
TJ Dillashaw vs. Cody Garbrandt
Last time around in UFC 217, Dillashaw put an end to the fight at two minutes and forty-one seconds in the second round. A lot of people were on Garbrandt to win that fight, thinking his boxing, speed, and power along with his excellent wrestling were too much for TJ Dillashaw to handle. Well, that wasn’t the case. And I have a feeling that it won’t be the case in the second installment as well.
When we look at 5Dimes Sportsbook, we see that the online outlets, as well as Las Vegas, agree with me. Dillashaw is a -120 favorite over Garbrandt. That said, in the world of MMA and Boxing, that is a very small margin. So, there is some love going to ‘No Love,’ even though he was TKO’d the last time out. But I have to take Dillashaw again. I see Cody moving his head into another big hook at some point in the fight, probably the third round, and TJ finishing him off.
Prediction: Dillashaw
Demetrious Johnson vs. Henry Cejudo
This is another fight we have seen before, where Mighty Mouse defended his title and put down Henry Cejudo in the first round. Fight odds have Demetrious Johnson a -600 favorite (six to one) going into this rematch, and I agree. Cejudo gets a second chance, but it will go the same. Mighty Mouse is just too good. He is a phenom in his weight class, and there is no one worthy for him to fight at this point. He is going to send a message to The Messenger and the rest of the UFC that he is undisputedly the best. Hopefully if both Demetrious and T.J can pull off wins in their respective bouts it could set up a possible super fight between the two champions. T.J. has been vocal about moving down in weight to challenge D.J. for his belt. Before these fights it was rumored that they might make the super fight but talks stalled as D.J. said he wanted to be paid for taking on such a fight.
Prediction: Mighty Mouse by KO/TKO
